Five Months
by rockybluewigs
Summary: post-Bionic Showdown / Things were finally getting back to normal. You can say that for everyone else. But for me? I'm in deep shit. I'm falling in love with Marcus Davenport, but that's not the big picture. He only has a few months to live before his sixteenth birthday. That's the issue. / MEO.
1. Forgive

**Disclaimer: I do not, and never will own, a swasome sci-fi show like Lab Rats.**

* * *

Things were finally getting back to normal after the showdown. I can gladly say that our family, albeit being the weirdest of the county, is becoming a family again. I get in trouble less, yeah, but things are finally drawing to a close as of family bonding. Last night, my grandma Rose went back home, and that's a good thing. She was horribly imposing on my life. She's worse than mom! No, at least mom backs off when necessary. Grandma Rose doesn't take a hint at all.

I'm glad for that, because all week, pranks were played, and I was not a part of that befuddle (for once), so I wasn't grounded. However, I'm grounded for two days because I sent my grandmother cross-country on her temporary scooter that Big D created for her. Fair, yes, since it doesn't compare to everyone else's punishment.

Three whole weeks. Yup, no texting, no pranking, no binary system coding (don't ask), and no hedgehog circus demonstrations. I thought it was very unfair (since they're siblings, and they haven't experienced a lot in the adolescent years) but I couldn't argue with the parents. My two-day punishment doesn't need to be extended.

It's the last day of my punishment, and I can gladly say that I can go back to my all-natural life. The showdown really messed their minds; a few weeks ago, a new foreign kid comes to school, and I watch Adam & Bree try to show a nonexistent secret that he's a bionic kid. Turns out that he's really adaptable and talented, but he hates them. While that's understandable, I really want them to make friends again. Not everyone's like Marcus, but what he did to their super-human psyche is beyond irreversible. I never trusted him, even before the guitar accident, but if he wasn't an evil android, I might have liked him.

I'm slowly getting ready for bed, to savor my moment of lockdown when I hear a frantic knock on the door. I know everyone's already in bed, and I'm the last one because of insomniatic reasons...I shake the thoughts out of my head, and open the door, despite my mind telling me no over and over again. The minute I saw the person in front of me, is the minute I should've listened to my head.

Marcus.

What catches my eye immediately is the robot hand, yet everything is intact. His clothes, covered in soot from head to toe, and his skin is half bloodied, half sparking. I jump a little each time he sparks, but when I look at his facial expression, I freeze.

He's crying, or looks like he was.

At that moment, I feel sorry for him. He only had one family member, and he left him to get trampled by a house they lived in together. He's lost the only friends that trusted him (mostly because they were so stupid to see behind the lies) and he's lost a home. Why should I feel sorry, when all he wanted was to capture my family? He wanted to destroy what I cherished a lot more than Pascal and Beyonce. The only thing he did, was destroy three kids' lives. That's not forgivable, yet I have a feeling that the plan wasn't his complete fault.

"What the hell do you want?" I ask, ignoring the coldness of my voice. Just like everyone else, I thought he was dead after the boulders fell on him. Apparently, he's stronger than I think he is. "You destroyed my family enough. I'm baffled that you're still alive. Oh, and if you're wondering about your daddy, he's frozen in Antarctica. If you still have your super speed, you can catch up to him!"

With that, I try to slam the door, but Marcus blocks the closing door with his good hand. "I know I cannot be here, but you guys are the only people who know of my existence. I have no one else to turn to."

I turn around with an incredulous scowl. "Don't even give me that. You deserved what you received, but I see that falling boulders wasn't enough to eliminate you for good." That is harsh, but memories of their lives at stake makes me angry again.

"I would explain it to you, if you give me a chance," he pleads. I've never seen him plead before. That's just really sad. I may hate this guy more than anything, but seeing him plead like that...I've never seen anything so real from this fake guy. "Just one chance. If you don't believe me, I'll leave you and the Davenports alone for good."

I don't want to. I really don't want to. However, my body goes into autopilot and I'm stepping outside. I should not trust this guy, let alone allow a fallen villain into my life like this. "Fine, but make it quick. My mom and Big D may get suspicious if I'm not in my room at a certain time."

Marcus leans back onto the wall, and slides his back until he's sitting on the floor. I lean against the door that's still open, staring at the broken fifteen year old in front of him. I may be crazy for saying this, but this emotional Marcus is really...dare I say, cute. I know, I should go inside and bang my head against the wall for thinking such thoughts. It was just a thought! It's not like no other guy has thought another guy is attractive. You don't hear it because we aren't girls, so we say it mentally. "I always knew I wasn't going to live long, so when I was thirteen, I programmed myself to withstand all kinds of danger. That means, I can withstand avalanches, typhoons, hurricanes, tsunamis, a sudden asteroid shower, falling boulders, anything. It wasn't easy, and I usually had to do it in discreet, but I eventually got around it."

"Pretty impressive," I reply.

For the first time, I see a real, sincere smirk from Marcus. "I've been alive since the showdown. I've been inside the house, and hiding incognito. However, i don't have much time to live. Even though I can withstand those disasters, I'm an android. I will eventually burn out after a while. I won't make it to my sixteenth birthday." He closes his eyes, and breathes evenly, although I know he's going to cry (again). "Despite being brought up as evil, I always wanted to live my life to the fullest. I've been forced to do this task to destroy Mr. Davenport for years. I didn't want to do it. I never want to destroy an innocent man, or eventually his close-knit family. However, my creator forced me. He lied to me. He said, if we capture them, we would become a bigger and better family. It was all a lie. He never cared about me, because if he did, to be honest, I would be in Antarctica in hiding too."

I stare at him, while he tries to hide his face in his long-sleeved shirt. I walk over to him, and pull out a bandage from my pocket. I kneel in front of him, and wrap his robot hand to protect it. I still don't know why I'm helping this guy, but for some reason, I don't want to see him suffer long enough. He's been taught that his alternate blood family were the evil ones that needs to be destroyed, but he never wants to destroy a family. He doesn't want to destroy something that we both wanted at one point.

"I'm really sorry for everything," he sobs. "I'm sorry for lying, and for attacking you, and for almost killing you using a self-driving electric car. I'm really sorry. I never wanted to kill you, I swear."

"I know you are."

—

School's even the same, besides the fact that Principal Perry is backing off a little. I don't really care anymore, because I'm used to her tyrannical ruling over school, and to be honest, Bree got off real easy by calling her mother. Being a principal isn't easy, and I visualized it when I was interim vice principal. While it was repulsive, seeing Perry in teenage clothes was amusing in many ways.

Oh well. Today's a blur, to be honest. The guys still smell like rotten milk and meat, which caused everyone to not sit near them for the day. They want to prank everyone back with some really huge, impressive prank, and I know they're going to excel in it, but I'm not going to involve myself in that. I'm known for breaking things, so me and a plan don't exactly mix together. I tell everyone that I'm staying after school, but I'm really going over to the broken-down house. I really feel sorry for this guy, especially since he can't leave the house without a disguise (for when Big D catches him, or worse) and I'm the only person willing to help him.

I shouldn't, and my mind is protesting me to go over to the house, but I shouldn't be this cold-hearted towards a person that I offered my good bandage to. No, seriously; that is my good bandage for when I twisted my ankle a few months ago. Apparently I was a temporary target for a round of Bionic Brother Toss—don't ask for any more details. I still find pieces of fibreglass in parts unknown.

I walk all the way over there, which isn't a long walk, and visualize the damage from the showdown. I never really found the trigger that revealed the secret lair, and I'm not sure I want to. This house holds so many memories from being almost killed by a robot, to Marcus's downfall. Now, I'm not sure what memory will happen now if I keep showing up here, but it seems like I won't be here for long.

Despite my (supposed) anger towards Marcus, I can't stand to see him live out his few months in a home...especially alone. For a guy who's really messed up, he doesn't deserve any of it.

There's no need to even find the secret lair, because I already see Marcus standing there, playing with the bandage I gave him yesterday. Due to his super-senses, he already knows I'm here. "I don't think I can use this hand anymore."

"I thought you were right-handed, like the 98 percent of the human race," I point out. I remember back when we were chemistry partners, he would use his right hand to write notes or formulas. I never knew he was a left-handed guy at all.

"I'm ambidextrous. My left hand is my primary, but I wrote with my right hand because my dad thought I should make myself less suspicious." I give him a weird look. "Don't ask," Marcus shakes his head, leaving the bandage alone after a while. An awkward silence takes over after what he says, and I find myself looking at my nails before biting them. I never like silences after small talk, but I don't know what to say. I'm standing in front of a villain, that should've been dead already, but he isn't. If anyone knows that I've talked to this guy, they'll kill me before killing him. "I'm not going to let you go inside. Too much memories of your siblings almost losing to their real dad, right?"

"Not to mention that you almost killed me with that robot," I remind, with a deep frown "I was so adamant on exposing you, and you wanted to get rid of me so I won't fool your dad's plan. Yeah, it's still fresh."

"How are they doing, by the way?" This is the first time he's even mentioned them, and to be honest, I don't want to tell him about anything. It would expose way too much, and I can barely trust this guy, let alone like him."You don't have to tell me. I can see that you're uncomfortable with the question."

I hide an impending sneer, although I can't figure out how he simply dismissed his own question like that. The old Marcus would torture me about their information, due to his obsession. Now, it's like he's a new person in front of me. I'm not sure if I like it, but it's so much better than fearing for my life. "I am uncomfortable telling you that. You have no idea what you've done to them, and even if I forgave you already, I will never feel comfortable about it. Despite their bionic abilities, they're still human, Marcus. You've really shattered their trust around foreign, non-bionic people."

"I didn't know—"

I interrupt him immediately, "They weren't even able to go outside of the lab until I stepped into their lives, so I cherish them more than my own pets. They're my siblings, my friends; no one will ever drive a wedge between them. Not even you, or your evil plans."

"You really love them," he says dejectedly.

"More than anything," I quiver. I try not to show any more emotion, because I really feel tears coming. Boys don't cry—no, men don't cry in front of people they hate. I can't cry in front of an enemy who can still take advantage of me. It shows weakness and vulnerability. The showdown really toughened me up in ways I don't understand, but I'm still hurt that I almost lost my stepfamily. I won't ever forgive myself if they disappeared in the hands of Marcus, (or the government). "I don't think you understand any of this. You may have had a 'father', but he's done nothing a father should do. He created you to be evil, to be a minion and a soldier. You fell into his trap, and when you were in danger, he left you in the dust to come back into the light, with no one by your side. Even though he controlled you, you had an opportunity to easily rebel against his values. You didn't, which doesn't make you any less evil. However, it does make you seem like you actually have emotions."

He nods, while playing with his sleeve. At least he changed clothes - I don't think I would stand to see him in the clothes he wore the day he almost died. "I know."

"How long do you have until you...uh, pass on?" I ask all of a sudden. I probably said it with too much coldness, but I want to know how long he has. It's only fair if I know.

"From what I found, I might not make it to my sixteenth birthday, which is on April 20th," Marcus replies, looking like he's doing the math in his head. "So, basically...I have about five months to live until I'm forever gone from your life."

"Is it ironic that your birthday is on the same day as Hitler's—"

"Shut the fuck up," Marcus scowls. I almost laugh, because that's the Marcus I remember. That's the guy I know, and hate, although he's more vulgar. "I hate it when anyone reminds me that my birthday is the same day as that dictator. I rather not have that thought in my head."

"Would it soothe you if I told you that's also the day for another purpose?" I ask him. He raises his signature eyebrow, although he's more amused than confused, or having an evil thought in his head. "Come on, that's all I got! Give me some credit."

"I know, and I don't care," Marcus replies, with a dejected shrug. "I basically have five months to live, and alone, might I add. What am I going to for five months?"

That's true, what are you going to do in five months? I really feel bad for this guy, and for some reason, I want to help. I'm helping a villain! How is that, in any way, moral? Why am I thinking of helping this broken, yet attractive android in front of me?

Okay, why am I calling him attractive yet again?

Why did I ever call him attractive?

"You don't have to be alone." For some reason, I think I have a bad feeling about accepting to help him for anything.

* * *

**And that's the start to a wonderful friendship! Haha, jk. It's actually a romance. I hated how Bionic Showdown ended, so let's bring back our favorite antagonist from the rocks, and let him have a proper death. Here's my contribution to the growing Meo fandom (or whatever you call them), and I'm glad I can be a part of it. I have a few authors to thank, as well as the Leo vs. Evil episode. Let's celebrate! Updates will be weekly or bi-weekly, because this fic is still a WIP. It should be everyday, since I only have three days of finals work to worry about, but I have work, I have to work on other projects, and I have another responsibility. So, yeah. I'm going to be slow like the other writers.**

**Should I continue? Yes? No? Maybe? Because I will seriously take your word for it. **


	2. Too Close For Comfort

**Disclaimer: Bionic Showdown never happened, and Marcus is in a relationship with Leo. They will eventually get married and have bionic, interracial Dooley-Davenport babies. The end.**

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**Marcus's Bucket List**

Attend a high school party

Play a carnival game

Watch all eight Harry Potter movies in one night/day

Discover a hidden ability (I seriously think his hidden ability is telepathy, or annoying the fuck out of me)

Eat Valentines' chocolate

Go to a concert

Ice-skating!

Kiss someone (NOT ME!~)

Look at Christmas trees for the holiday season

—

"Dude, this all sounds _way_ too romantic," I argue, staring at the bucket list I write for him. "Looking at Christmas trees? Seriously? Give me a break!"

"I heard it's fun!" Marcus argues back.

I raise an eyebrow quizzically. "Oh? And where were you going to put this Christmas tree, might I ask? You're technically forbidden in my house, and apparently I'm forbidden in yours! It's a wonder how I'm basically in public with you!"

"Shut up, Leo. I don't know how to create a bucket list! And I never forbade you in my house; you're just too stubborn to come in!" Marcus pouts. I chuckle under my breath, and stare at the incomplete bucket list in front of us. We're inside an empty coffee shop next to the frozen yogurt place, and we're trying not to make any noise. Marcus wears his hood inside the coffee shop, which hides his face in a mysterious way, however I can still see the pout on his face.

He's cute when he pouts.

"Stop pouting and tell me what's next on your list!" I demand, preparing myself for another stupid thing he wants to do in five months. "I want this list to be complete before we get started on…some of these things. There's no way in hell that I'm going to do some of these things on your list."

"Like what; kiss me?" Marcus gives me a flirtatious smirk, and I try not to blush by glaring at him. "I don't know, you look like you want to."

It's funny, because part of me actually wants to. (Wait, what? Huh?) "I'll pass on that offer. Anyway, what else do you want to do?"

"Find out if Leo wants to kiss me or not?" Marcus replies in a snarky, questioning tone.

My eyes narrow in slits at the idiot staring back at me. I don't get why he's being so adamant on knowing that piece of information. No one deserves to know that piece of information, now that it's fresh. "I'm serious."

"So am I."

I groan out loud, "Fuck you, Marcus. I'm trying to help you and all you want to do is smooch another guy, who is _obviously_ straight!"

"I know you're trying to help me, but I'm just pointing out the unconscious thoughts here," Marcus grins. "I've sat here for the past hour, and I've caught you staring at my lips countless times. Also, I've noticed something. You shift your eyes a little when you lie. You're not fooling me, Leo. If you want to, what's stopping you?"

"One, I'm _straight_," I emphasize angrily. "Two, you're _evil_, and three, I don't _want_ to! Oh, and four, it's wrong. I'm not going to sit here and—"

Before I have a chance to reply, Marcus crawls over the table (not literally, but you know what I mean!) and smashes his lips onto mine. The act catches me by surprise, and I'm conflicted to either push him off, or kiss back. My mind is telling me to do the former, but I end up doing the latter, letting my eyes close and a sharp, closed mouth moan elicit in the process. I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm kissing an ex-villain in a coffee shop.

I'm _kissing_ Marcus.

I'm enjoying it more than I should.

I have to admit, it's way better than imagining it. It's not like I have, or anything. I'm just saying - I think the action is better than the thought. Actions _do_ speak louder than thoughts. I know it's words, but I never told anyone this. I don't think I can, either.

Just as I was about to deepen it (with as little experience as I can,) he pulls away, and smirks evilly. "Uh huh, I think you need to cross something off that list."

I grumble obscenities, as I cross number eight off his list. "I hate you. And you taste like mint coffee."

—

I have quizzes all week, and I find myself studying more and more. Every teacher just wants to quiz us before the Thanksgiving weekend, which is stupid beyond belief. If you're going to quiz students, quiz them after the break! Although I don't want to study while I'm munching on a turkey leg, so I see their logic...partially.

I have to study for chemistry, history, and math because my English teacher thinks that a quiz before Thanksgiving weekend is stupider than after the weekend. Whatever floats her boat; I don't really care. I'm just a little overjoyed that I can enjoy Thanksgiving with my family, with no distractions. I feel bad that Marcus isn't going to have a Thanksgiving dinner, because he doesn't have a family. Plus, I can't sneak out after a certain time to deliver a dinner over to his house.

Mom wants me to tag along while she does Black-Friday shopping. I really don't want to. I hate it when I see women fighting over unnecessary items for Christmas. It also saddens me that the stores are opening on that night at five in the evening. It seems like everyone immediately forgets about Thanksgiving.

I'm sorry, but it's a day to be thankful for things you do have, not_ lose_ a limb over a designer shirt that's now $19.99!

At least she's not crazy enough to wake me up from my turkey coma. However, I do suggest to her to tag along Bree, since she can super speed past old people and stuff. Mom says that she doesn't want to use Bree like that for material things.

What kind of logic is that?

I suggested Adam, since he can carry those things (and then some) to the checkout line. I gave up after that. I don't know what to say about Chase, really; he'll bore her to death about the logical reasoning of shopping for women, and the 'history of Black Friday'. I'm hoping she comes out alive from this sale, though.

Ugh, atomic number for oxygen...hm…

"Eight," I hear a voice behind me. I turn around to see Marcus by the window, propped up using both of his arms.

"What the hell are you doing here? I told you you're not _exactly_ welcome here!" I whisper-yell at the bionic android, who doesn't seem to mind. Instead, he crawls inside my room, and sits on my bed. "Dude, seriously. you're asking to get caught."

"Calm down, everyone's hanging out at the lab, and your mom isn't even home," Marcus waves off.

I roll my eyes, and write down the number eight on—wait a minute. "How did you know I was struggling with the atomic number for oxygen?"

"You unconsciously talk to yourself when you're problem-solving," Marcus replies. "And...the number eight was what we accomplished already on my bucket list," he says with a wink. I roll my eyes again, and stare at my study guide again. I don't want this guy to keep thinking that I actually liked that kiss. Okay, I did, but I'm not telling! I didn't even tell Beyonce. Since he's sitting near me on the bed, it doesn't help that he can see me unconsciously blushing, and not completing the study guide in front of me at all.

"You're thinking about it again, aren't you?" Marcus grins from ear to ear, and I narrow my eyes. Okay, seriously; is reading minds his hidden ability? If so, I am not safe for the next five months.

"No," I lie, and focus on the diatomic nonmetals besides oxygen. So we have hydrogen, nitrogen—

"Again, you're not fooling me," Marcus breathes, his mouth near my right ear. His breathing is really distracting me in ways that I don't want to discuss, especially when I have to study for a test. Why is he distracting me so much? Well, he's here, but he isn't supposed to be.

"I - I'm trying to study, Marcus," I stammer.

"Yeah, and how is that working for you?" he asks lowly.

"To be honest, it's not," I reveal. "That's because you're breathing on my neck. We can do whatever later, but I really need to study. My quizzes start tomorrow."

"Yeah, and I only live once._ Literally_," Marcus grins, pushing the items away from my lap. "I really want to kiss you now, and I know you want to kiss me too, so stop trying to fake-study and do it already." He crawls in front of me, and his face is literally inches away from mine. "I'm waiting."

"Ugh, I swear if you keep hovering over me like that—" I never get to finish my sentence, because he immediately smashes his lips against mine. Horribly, again, my willpower starts to crumble as I kiss back, my books perfectly neglected on the floor.

—

Thanksgiving is uneventful, completely. Apparently, everyone thinks throwing food was completely necessary, destroying a part of the house, and I end up cleaning up their mess. No fair! I don't clean up for my mess most of the time, so why should I clean up their mess? Everyone will feel my wrath for the rest of the weekend.

I finish the remnants of the turkey stuffing on the ceiling, when I see Adam staring at me with his usual goofy grin on his face. For some reason, I can't stay mad (specifically) at Adam, Bree & Chase for the most part, especially when Adam looks like he wants to help me get the stuffing out of the chandelier. "What do you want?" I ask.

"I'm really sorry that I got the stuffing on the chandelier," he apologizes, with his fixed grin. I don't know if he's being earnest or not, but if he is, then it's probably not going to work for the weekend. "I know you're mad at us. You're not hiding it very well. So I came upstairs to help you, but it seems like you're completely done with the job."

"Yeah, because I was all alone!" I half-yell in frustration. "Thanks for destroying the house on Thanksgiving. Who knows what you'll do for Christmas."

"You're welcome," he replies. He just completely disregarded my sarcasm! Who does that—no, wait. I'm dealing with Adam here. If there is anyone that doesn't understand sarcasm more than Sheldon Cooper, it's Adam. "It's our second Thanksgiving since Davenport married your mom and we're not used to it. What's the point of Thanksgiving anyway? Is it to get really fat?"

I blink, and step off the ladder. This seems more serious than usual, and I know everyone else would give him a hard time about the true meaning of Thanksgiving (it has lost its luster since the creation of Black Friday) so I feel special to know that he trusts me enough to explain this to him. "Well, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks to what you've received throughout the year. For example, I'm thankful that my siblings are still alive after the showdown. I can't ask for better people to be my brothers and sister, other than you three. I'm also thankful that these couple of weeks, I haven't gotten in much trouble, or broken anything either. That's a new record."

Adam nods, but I don't think he fully understands. I let out an annoyed, impatient sigh. "You don't understand at all, do you?"

"Nope, not at all."

"Okay, aren't you thankful that you figured out your hidden ability?" I start, trying not to baby him but to put him on the right track. I don't think a lot of people know how to deal with Adam, since he's slower than everyone else, but patience does come with it. "I mean, energy blasts? That's pretty cool."

"Yeah, it does seem cool," he grins again. "I think I'm thankful, for a brave tiny little McLittlestein like you, who is also a great mission specialist, and a great friend too."

"You are?" I smile, with a devious plan to take advantage of the situation. "Then be thankful that I'm also giving you the privilege to wash the dishes."

"Thanks, Leo!" He cheers, and runs over to the sink. Yeah, that was mean, but I need a little payback.

* * *

**AN: I'm definitely continuing, which means more Meo! Yay! Awesomeness! Anyway, I really want to thank those who took the time to review (even if one was _slightly_ threatening.). I really thought I wouldn't get reviews (or anything at all), but I was proven wrong _(obviously_) so I'm updating a little early. I also had to omit a part here, so the chapter is relatively a little short, compared to the last. Concerning my small OCD with word count, this isn't bad. I didn't go into a small hissy fit and rage quit because of this word count. (i write relatively long chapters of filler! bear with me! i want to include my favorite bionic sibs because they are somewhat involved /even though i relatively hate bree/ and bickering between chase and adam and my oc's and blah ugh)**

**Uh, long live and Meo! I should also warn you. I may or may not change the rating. Just a heads-up, since I'm still writing this. (I'll most likely keep the rating to a T—I mean, what) This is an eventual relationship (that will eventually uh—end?) between two guys, and it's not all kisses and fluffy goodness all the time. If you have any other questions about the fic, send me a PM or something. I don't necessarily bite. (yes I do.) Unless that's your hidden kink. Lord knows it isn't mine. (the lie detector test determined that was a lie!) ahem. **

**Just review, por-favor. They're the tacos to my waiting mouth.**


	3. Good Weird

**Disclaimer: If Meo fans ruled Lab Rats, it wouldn't be on Disney XD. Some may argue Teen Nick, some argue FOX or NBC. Me? I think HBO would be a great channel. Without further ado, I don't own Lab Rats. **

* * *

"Alright, who is it?" That's the first thing I hear when I collect all eight movies into my backpack. Despite my contempt of the house, Marcus decides we should just do the easy and slow parts of the list. As a matter of fact, we're not going Christmas tree shopping until next week. He's more excited than I am, which I don't get. I also have to go tree shopping with the family, but that's for another time.

I turn around, and see Bree standing over me, watching my every move with a suspicious look. I don't know why she thinks I'm with someone, but she is not getting that out of me. "I'm still mad at you," I point out, with an obvious frown. "And what makes you _insinuate_ that there's a someone?"

"One, I don't give a shit that you're still mad because it's ridiculous to be mad at us for ruining Thanksgiving," she retorts back, with the same suspicious look, "Two, I'm not insinuating. I'm pointing out the obvious. And three, everyone else may not notice, but you seem more relaxed these couple of days. So, who's the girl?"

Of course, it _has_ to be a girl. I'm not complaining, but what difference would it make if I tell her that it's the opposite? "What makes you think it's a girl?"

Bree rolls her eyes, and I know she's annoyed. She is always easy to annoy, which always amuses and baffles me. I try not to laugh, especially when she gives me a particularly sour expression. "Fine, who's the_ guy_?"

"I'm too good-looking to swing that way," I tell her, while packing my bag with snacks. I seriously don't swing that way. I'm straight as a ruler, or a straight line or whatever. (Or, I think I am.) "What makes you think I'm involved in a relationship?"

"Because, you haven't been hanging at the lab with us for a while, and I doubt it's because you're still mad," she explains. "Plus, you're packing up snacks and DVDs. I doubt you're going to enjoy those Harry Potter movies by yourself, or ask any of us to come with you. Just tell me, already."

I roll my eyes. Why does she always have to know everything about everyone? I don't tell her how I rather much kiss Marcus than half of the girls in my school anymore, or that I really dislike her current boyfriend, Owen. Plus, I'm not in a relationship. We're not even friends! I don't know what we are. I can admit that we act like we're together, but we're not. "I have nothing to tell you. There's nothing going on in my boring life."

"Fine, you don't have to tell me," she shrugs and turns around towards the lab. "But I will find out. And when I do...I'm going to use it against you. Remember Leo, I have super speed. You will _never_ see it coming."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I laugh nervously. Seriously, she can read anyone like a book. If she already knows, then why isn't she confronting me about it? I would have heard an earful about the dangers of dating a nemesis. I really don't want to.

I never got to hear her reply, because she super speeds out of the family room.

—

"So, what's that point of this movie?" Marcus questions, after watching thirty minutes of the first Harry Potter movie. I've watched this so many times, that can spoil it for him, but it would be unfair. He has to watch it before I reveal any secrets in this movie. It's only fair. "He's a wizard, but he doesn't know it yet. However, his dead parents were popular. Please explain?"

"Just watch it!" I whisper-exclaim. Marcus frowns, but turns his head over to the movie. "You'll enjoy it."

"I'm enjoying the fact that the main character and the blonde with the weird name remind me of two other people I know," he says, with a side smirk. Of course he would say that. I don't think we're anything like those two...wait, I think I see his point. "The somewhat evil guy, and the brave nerd. Yeah, we're just like them."

"There's a clear difference though. They're not into each other at all," I point out. Realizing what I just said, I also blush. I want to say that they don't really become friends after the war ends, but that just came out instead. In some other distant land, Freud is cheering out loud in his grave.

"So, what you're saying is, that we're into each other?" Marcus questions, with a grin and a cocked eyebrow.

"No, because it's one-sided. I'm not into you," I lie, with a scowl. It's half-hearted, which doesn't falter his grin at all.

"No, I think that's what you wanted to say all along," he replies, and I notice that he's getting closer to me. "You are so into me, aren't you?"

"Hey, we're missing my favorite part!" I stammer nervously, and stare at the flat-screen again to avoid his gaze. It's the part where the Gryffindors have their first Quidditch game, and it's actually my favorite part. I feel his hot breath breathing on my skin, and I try really hard to focus more on the movie. However, it's not working at all.

Marcus doesn't move from that spot at all, despite that I'm not looking back. "Yes you are. You're not fooling me, Leo. I can read you like a book, remember?"

With each word, I feel my breath hitch. I know I would lose the battle, but I will not give in so easily. Marcus has another thing coming. I keep ignoring Marcus, which causes him to lean back, and look at the screen. "You're so obvious," he mutters, while looking at the screen. I turn around to glare at him, but it's short-lived.

The next few movies we watch in complete silence, but now and then, both of our hands twitch until one of us holds it. Marcus usually makes the first move, and I stare back at him. However for the fifth time today, I take the advantage. I get those weird sparks when one of us hold each other's hands, and it's not the usual feelings I have when I'm around another girl. These feelings are particularly stronger.

As soon as I remove the sixth movie from the DVD player, I realize that he fell asleep sometime during the movie when I hear a sharp snore. I whip my head around, and I find myself grinning at his sleeping form - he looks more calm, and he isn't smirking or raising his weird eyebrow all the time. Instead, his eyes flutter occasionally, and his mouth opens and closes with each breath he inhales and exhales. So, he's a mouth breather when he sleeps...not that I hate it, but it's completely uncomfortable to do. Yeah, I'm distracting myself from other thoughts. Despite the fact that he's sleeping, I slide in the seventh movie, which is actually a two-parter. I have to admit, that was a pretty great idea, even if it barely followed the book. It was the biggest book of the series, so it needed a two-parter.

I've watched these movies way less than the last six, but I still enjoy them.

I don't even know that I fall asleep until I wake up, and the end credits are playing for the very last one. His arms are wrapped around my waist in a protective hold. he's completely awake, and he has welled-up tears in his eyes. "Was it _that_ emotional for you?" I joke lightly, my voice raspy from the nap.

"It kind of was," he replies. "His downfall reminds me of mine a couple of months ago."

"Yeah, but you're still alive," I point out. "You may have five months left, but you have plenty of time to die happily and have this bucket list completed...and then some. We definitely watched all eight movies, so you can cross that off."

"Yeah, I can," Marcus replies dejectedly, his facial expression changing as he keeps staring at me, from fear to concern. He's already thinking of something, and I'm not sure if I would like it. "Uh, can I ask you something really personal?"

"I don't know, can you?" I joke, and start laughing. He keeps his straight face, which makes me stop laughing. I clear my throat immediately, and give him an apologetic look. "Sorry, you were saying?"

"I know it's weird already that we're...uh, this close, so fast, but it makes it a bit more comfortable to ask you this. How does it feel…?" He stops, and casts his face to the side. I think I have an idea on what he's talking about, but I don't want to say it either. "Howdoesitfeeltolove?"

Did I just hear him correctly, or do I need to de-wax my ear already? Did he just say what I think he said? "Can you repeat that? I'm not sure if—"

"_How does it feel to love?_" He repeats clearly, but he grits his teeth and flushes to a dark shade of red. My eyes widen in surprise, even though I know he isn't finished with the question. "How does it feel when you love someone? I don't think I ever _truly_ loved anyone, not even my father. He just treated me like a subject, and not like a son, so I probably don't know. The main antagonist - Voldemort, he never felt loved by someone, which is why he's so evil. I just want to know...how does it feel, from your perspective."

"Uh..." I stop myself, because I don't know how bad it is for him. He's been living with a sociopath almost his whole life, while everyone has someone to love. I don't know how it feels, but it is really sad to look at. "It feels, different. There's always that special someone in everyone's life, and they don't usually know it. I guess on your case, you feel that someone may never love you." He nods, and I really don't know what to say. I don't want to say that it's true since he doesn't know anyone, but I don't want to get his hopes up either. "You never know. Things may change, and in the five months that you have, there might be someone who loves you just as much as you love them. It feels different from hate, and you find yourself confused for a moment. You come to realize it more, and it doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is that special someone."

"Oh," he purses his lips. "Thanks for the explanation. I _really_ need it." With a genuine grin, he holds me closer to his chest. Even though we're not together, I feel way more comfortable like this. It's like a weird feeling, but it's good when I'm around him now. Before, I hated and feared this guy, since he's bionic, manipulative, and evil. Now, he's still bionic, manipulative, and somewhat evil…with a side of confused, lost, and broken. Day by day, I get to know him more, and my opinion on him months ago, dwindles. He's weird, but he's a _good_ weird.

I'm not sure if it's what he wants, but for some reason, I think we're slowly falling into that trap. "I should stop the movie already." He lets go of me, and I remove the DVD from the player. There's a small, awkward silence that takes over while I place the DVD back into the right case. These movies were my life, and even though it's over, I'm glad I decide to re-watch it with someone who really needs that hope of dying soon.

You can say him and Harry are pretty similar. They live each day, and they don't know when they're going to die. They both had near-death experiences, which changed their attitudes. He says he's going to die on or before April 20th, but until then, I feel the responsibility to make those days the best days of his life. I check my watch, and realize that I spent the entire day with Marcus, and my mom's probably worried sick about my whereabouts. I've been gone since morning, and each movie was 2-3 hours long, but it's now 5:30. Do I bother check my phone?

I do, but I haven't received any missed calls. I do receive some texts, though. "I probably gotta go, so we'll see each other next week for tree shopping?"

"Yeah," Marcus answers, although I can see the dejected look on his face. I don't want to leave either, but my mom will _actually_ throw a fit if I'm not home by six. I did promise six. "I'll be fine! Wipe that worried look off your face."

"Yeah, but you really look like you don't want me to go," I say.

"i respect your family's concern for you, so go," he waves off. I nod, and pack up the eight DVD's in my bag.

"Okay, but don't do anything stupid while I'm gone," I joke. He gets up from the beanbag chair, and stands over me, raising his eyebrow. "Really, Eyebrows?"

"I kind of missed that nickname. You should call me Eyebrows more often."

I wiggle my eyebrows for a couple of seconds. "Sure, _Eyebrows_."

* * *

**AN: here's another chapter for you guys. I was holding it for another week, but there's a certain Christmas chapter that I want to publish in the next few days so yeah, you're getting this one a bit early. After chapter four, I shall update every four to five days. since I'm off for five weeks for my winter break before spring semester. #collegeproblems**

**Seriously guys, review or I would think you guys don't like it. Yes, a relationship is coming, as well as some other obstacles (because I did not intend to pull Janelle into the mix...oops) and I don't want only a few people reading. I see a select few of Meo fics with so many reviews (even though they're anon and I have to moderate them), I just...okay, let me stop rambling, because it will turn into a rant.**

**in other news, I'm thinking of adding a community specifically for the Meo fandom, what do you think? It's mostly for double sided Meo, not one-sided ('cause I want to) plus, I think people need to know about Meo. There are so many Brase shippers in the Lab Rats fandom, and I can't stand that pairing in the least (sorry for those who do like them, but they're biological sibs. And to be honest, Chase has way more chemistry with Adam *cough* so yeah *cough* then again, it can be because I don't like Bree) So what do you think? You can say yes and send me some fics, and get this community growing! **

**So review, or you're fired~**


	4. Oh, Christmas Tree

**Disclaimer: This owning of the Lab Rats is...UNACCEPTABLE! (This was really said by Lemongrab. Srsly. He thinks me owning Lab Rats is unacceptable. It's alright. /Jeezus, gabs, you're turning 20 in a few months and you still watch cartoons./)**

* * *

The smell of pine trees waft my nose immediately as soon as we reach the vacant parking lot of Mission Creek Mall, where only a few families with particularly strong men are here. I probably have to come back next week with the guys, but today, it's for a different cause. Throughout the week, I busy myself with homework, and getting okay grades for my quizzes. I also receive an unfair detention from Perry, because I was two _seconds_ late to school. I don't get it, but I finalized that she isn't on her best mood. Christmas is coming, and I know she has to deal with her mom (and her cats) for the holidays. I don't understand why she still lives with someone as tyrannical as her.

It's like watching two Perries argue with each other!

We look at the smaller trees first, since there are actually a variety of smaller trees. I like them, because they're shorter than me, but that doesn't stop Marcus from teasing me about my height.

"These smaller trees are so lame!" he complains, with an evil smirk. "These are for shorter people...like you!"

"Ha ha, very funny," I scowl. He's been joking on my height all day, and I'm getting sick of it. Now I probably know how Chase feels… "Your height jokes are the highlight of my fucking day, Marcus. Keep it up, and I may get my growth spurt early."

"In defense, it looks like you should've received your growth spurt a _long_ time ago," he retorts, his smirk growing into a Cheshire grin. "But, all in all, I'm having fun."

"Great, because I'm _not_ amused!" I pout, and cross my arms over my chest. Today's a particularly chilly day, and we're not wearing coats, but Marcus has his hood on to create less of a distraction. "Can we pick out a tree and be on our way?"

"You mad?" He laughs wholeheartedly, which makes me flip him off and look closely at the smaller trees. I still say we go for the small ones, even though they are a couple inches taller. I feel twin arms around my waist, and a chin rest on my shoulder. "Come on, you know I was joking. We'll pick out the smallest one of the bunch, and we'll decorate it together. I'll stop it with the height jokes as well."

"Somehow, I doubt that," I whisper back. "You know I'm doing this for _you_ and not for _me_, right? You can choose whatever you want, but please lay off the height jokes."

He kisses my neck, and eventually gets off me, which leaves a warm spot that quickly gets cold. "Great, because I saw a six-feet one over there, and it's all in white. It's not real, but it looks pretty sweet."

"You know that's the display, right?"

—

I never expected this to range on for two hours, but the sky is darkening, and the parking lot is vacant of people. Throughout those two hours, we argue and make up over stupid trees. He hasn't said any jokes, but that doesn't stop him from being a goofy idiot on Christmas day when we pass the white display tree. It's already decorated, and the salespeople said that they weren't selling it, at all.

Now, he's going through a mental tantrum, and I'm craning my neck over a taller tree that smells really good, compared to the rest. I don't know, but it really pulls me in. "This is our best one," I hear a small, sweet voice next to me, and I turn around to see a blond girl with a pearly white grin. She has on normal clothes with a bright orange lumberjack vest, and she's probably my age, or a couple of years older. "Were you interested?"

"Uh, actually, I'm here with my...uh, friend," I point over to Marcus, who looks at another tree, ignoring another salesperson who's talking to him. "He's never celebrated Christmas before."

"Oh, I think it's sweet that a friend is helping another friend with picking out a Christmas tree!" she grins from ear to ear, and I doubt that's part of her job. "I usually recommend the pine trees, but we're fresh out, and you're standing in front of the Grand Fir. It smells citrusy if you crush the needles, so you might get that citrusy smell for a month."

"No wonder it smells so good," I say, while staring at the particularly large tree in awe.

"It's really rare to find these, but my dad travels all around to the Northwest to get most of them," she admits. i keep looking back to see if I don't lose Marcus, but he stays fixated at his place. The salesperson is long gone, but he's still there. "They're usually the tallest out of the bunch."

"Hey I found a good-looking—" he starts as soon as he turns around, but he stops when he sees the salesperson standing next to me. "Tree."

"Oh, okay," I reply, with a nervous laugh. His eyes glow a sickly green momentarily at her, and she looks back at me. "We'll probably take his choice."

"Sure, just show me which one it is!" she beams, and takes note of the tree that he points at. "Great, I'll be right back." she skips off, and everything's silent.

"What were you doing?" he asks, with his eyebrow raised, in an intimidating way. "I leave for one second, and you're talking to someone else?"

"She was just explaining the trees to me, no big deal," I stutter nervously, backing up a little. Despite our...confusing relationship, I don't want to get him angry—wait. I stop myself, and raise _my_ eyebrow. "Wait a minute. Were you _jealous_ of her?"

"NO!" he denies, but I know he's lying. He isn't a very good liar, especially when he tried to lie about sending me to my doom at the Pacific Ocean. His voice tends to falter, and he casts his eyes around the room when he lies. "Why would I be jealous of her? I just didn't like the way she was looking at you."

"You _were_ jealous!" I gasp. My lips twitch into an amused, yet flattered smirk. I can't believe he's jealous! He's also blushing, which is a clear indication that he's jealous. I know it's not from the chilly air. "Oh my god, you were totally jealous. By the way, we were flirting behind your back."

I snort, and make my way to the kiosk, and I know he's glowering in green-eyed anger (literally). "I'm going to get you for that!"

"Oh yeah, how?" I turn around and challenge him. He shrugs, and walks over to the front of my face. "Got nothing, Eyebrows?"

"Don't worry, you won't even see it coming," he smirks, and his eyes glow in that sickly green color before the girl shows up again. Her throat-clearing makes me jump and look over to the side, while she holds some papers, and an older man stands next to her. "You better sleep with one eye open," he whispers in my ear, and I feel his lips ghost over my ear before he withdraws.

"Don't make promises you can't keep!"

I should fear for my life, but I know it was a half-hearted threat. The tree, which he picks up with ease, is already paid for and we find ourselves getting stared at. Since it's clear that a fifteen year old cannot lift up a tree by himself, of course people would look. What can you do, when you're around a small, scrawny guy (by looks) who can actually lift ten times his size? Not to mention that we start holding hands...

"You know people are looking at us, right?" I mutter over to him, who doesn't seem to mind.

"Let 'em stare, I'm having another great day."

—

Decorating a tree is so hazardous and so unproductive. Throughout the tree-decorating, all we do is get tangled in garland, and stung by Christmas ornament hooks. It's even worse when we end up breaking three of the Christmas ornament balls that I oh-so-purchased with my allowance!

Note to self: ask Big D for a raise in my allowance.

Then, the lights end up decorating the inside of our fort (which was Marcus' idea) because we were beat, and he kept sneezing when I unveil the tree skirt that I found at the thrift shop yesterday. I can't tell you how many times I was near that splatter of snot. Also, I think I've sprained a part in his body, because he kept hugging me from behind. Yeah, decorating a tree with two people (who can't keep their hands off each other) can get really disastrous.

Now, the decorative lights burn out quickly, leaving the both of us in darkness under our fort. "Marcus...did you, by any chance, decide to pick up a second set of lights when we were at the mall?"

"Nope," he replies, and I know he's smirking from ear to ear.

"You are one stupid fuck," I whisper, while shaking my head. "Let's go to plan B. Luckily, I picked up some new colorful lights, when you were looking at the sexual Christmas ornaments."

"No they weren't!" Marcus defends.

I narrow my eyes, remembering the particularly phallic Christmas ornament he stared at for a long time. "They were shaped like—you know what, forget it. It's useless when I argue with you." I get up, and reach over for the box of new lights. "Alright, take the old ones out and replace it—" I barely have time to finish my sentence, because he already finishes the job with his super speed. "—with the new ones."

"You were saying?" he grins. I roll my eyes, just as he turns the new lights on. Slowly, he crawls closer to me, with the same grin fixated on his face.

"I hate you so much," I frown.

Playfully, his grin turns into his signature, yet cute, pout. "Do you really mean that?"

"No," I confess, with a short shrug. "I think you have an effect on me, Eyebrows."

A blush creeps up on both of our faces, which makes the situation awkward. Maybe it's because we're in a setting that only little kids and couples do, but I don't think I would do this with anyone else. I don't think I would ever do this with anyone, ever. I've never created a fort, which adds in to the excitement and slight embarrassment.

"So, I've discovered my new ability," he breaks the silence, slightly raising his eyebrow.

"Let me guess, telepathy?" I reply lamely, which causes him to smirk. Yeah, I was right; it was telepathy. "I would tell you to wipe that smirk off your face, but you just discovered your secret ability. Congratulations. Maybe there's hope for me growing a few inches taller."

"You know I don't care about your height," he whispers, and grabs my shoulders. "You'll get taller in due time. But for now, I think I can deal with your shortness. It wouldn't feel right if you were taller than me."

"You're right," I sigh, and Marcus moves his hands from my shoulders to my sides. "Why do I have a feeling that there's another purpose for this fort?"

"That depends, because you've sat under the mistletoe the entire time," Marcus blushes wickedly while I stare up to see the plant under my head. "Yeah, the same girl you were 'flirting' with, she thought we were _actually_ together and gave me a sprig of this little plant. However, we're not together, or that's what you've convinced yourself." I know that there's a disadvantage to his newfound telepathy, especially with the disapproving look he gives me. He chooses to hear my thoughts, and sometimes they aren't so pleasant, especially when I repeat the mantra 'we're not together' in my head everyday.

Then again, there's also that thought, which happens very recently, that says we _should_.

Oh god.

Okay...how do I fix this? "I keep thinking that because...well, we're not even friends. I don't know what we are. Yet, we act like we're in an unspoken relationship. You were jealous of me speaking to another girl. I would much rather kiss you than any other girl. We hold hands, and flirt with each other, even though I'm not supposed to...feel this way. Plus, to be honest, I don't think two boys build forts with each other, no matter what age."

He rolls his eyes, but I know he's pretty amused. "Yeah, I know, but if we're not together, or friends, or even acquaintances...then what are we? You're just helping me out of pity, but I know there's something more to it. I just know. I can't figure out what it is, but that doesn't mean I won't find out before you figure it out yourself."

"I don't know, but things are moving a little too fast," I admit. "Let's just...uh, okay. I probably have to stay with my family for the Christmas season, so I'll probably won't see you for a while. We can always check up on each other, to make sure you're still alive, but no more relationship...stuff. Not...not for a while." With that, I feel a sting in my chest, probably meaning that I've made the worst decision of my life.

"Alright," he replies dejectedly. "I'll back off a bit, and _you_ keep your hands off me."

I narrow my eyes, while he chuckles under his breath. "Yeah, because it's _me_ who always touches you. Do you even realize that you unconsciously touch me on the shoulders and waist?"

"Yeah, but do you complain?"

Yeah, he has a point there, but I'm not saying anything. Of course, when I don't say anything, he automatically knows the answer. "Whatever. I'm just saying. However, that starts tomorrow, because I can at least give you the benefit of enjoying your first mistletoe kiss, no matter how much this would weird me out."

"Or how much you'll enjoy it—"

"Don't push it, Captain Eyebrows," I frown. He chuckles again, and I cup his face, bringing our faces closer in a slow, yet meaningful kiss.

I don't even know why, but I'm slowly, and I mean slowly, starting to really like Marcus a lot more than I expected. That's why I need to stay away. I _really_ need to stay away. I need to remind myself that he destroyed my family, and he's evil. Maybe that may work. He's an evil, sociopathic mastermind...

Yet, my mind doesn't believe it anymore, and neither does my heart.

Oh god, I'm in deep shit.

* * *

**AN: Yay, progress! I didn't expect for things to move so fast, but you know what? Fuck it. I've heard of stupider stories of love, lust and infatuations. This, however, is not lust or infatuation so yeah. I can write fifteen chapters of conflict but that was hard for another fic I write last year, so I will allow a relationship to happen within five chapters. Oops, I just gave you a clue for the next chapter! ;)**

**It's not much damage anyway. Everyone was expecting it sooner or later.**

**Please review! I would be completely happy if my readers take the time to review. Even if you don't have an account, you can still review. However, I will not tolerate a flame. You flame, and I will personally find you. Constructive criticism is good too.**

**Oh, and happy holidays! I don't know what you celebrate, and it seems like people get offended by the phrase or something, but I say it because December has a lot of holidays and birthdays. I respect all holidays, and observances, so, enjoy your Christmas, December 25th, birthday, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, winter solstice, Yuletide, and et cetera. Love you guys! :)**


	5. It Doesn't Work

**AN: The show writers were not kind to me, and laughed at me when I told them I wanted to own Lab Rats for Christmas. I also said I wanted a big booty hoe but all I got was a sexy picture of Miley Cyrus. (Close enough.)**

* * *

It's a new day, and a Sunday at that. I can't really discuss the interrogation station I receive when I come home later than usual, because I'm immediately grounded until Christmas Eve. While that's not fair (because_ particular people_ get to sneak out the house until midnight) I don't argue on it. I know mom and Big D got me some awesome gifts this year, and I'm risking it by complaining about being out at a certain time. I don't say anything for the rest of the night, but since my mind is on a questionable overload, I barely sleep until 5 in the morning, which is interrupted because Eddy woke me up.

Therefore, there is no 'Leo glow', and everyone will have to deal with the cranky side of me for the rest of the day.

Later on, I find out that everyone is going (back) to the mall for Christmas tree shopping, and I figured that I would stay home because I'm grounded. However, since no one trusts me to stay by myself, (yet, mark my words!) I have to go with them. I'm not interested at all, but since this is my breath of fresh air besides going to and from school, I figure why not.

Everyone (besides me) sings Christmas songs on the way there, which embarrasses me when Trent appears with his football team. I know they're going to bother me tomorrow about my embarrassing family. Great. I'm going to have a field trip with these _assholes_. Did I mention how much I hate them? No? Then, I hate the football team way more than I hated Marcus. Yes, it's that serious. At least Marcus didn't tease me on my height, or push me around. (But he did try to kill me. Oh well, my logic doesn't add up, and it never will.)

"These trees are taller than me! That's so cool!" my thoughts about tomorrow come to a halt when I hear Adam cheering over the height of the trees. I roll my eyes; of course these trees are a bit taller than him. A _lot_ of trees are taller than Adam. "I don't feel compelled to joke about Chase's size."

I snort, while Chase tries to retort, "You do realize that I'm slightly taller than—"

"You know it's _useless_ at this point, right?" Bree says matter-of-factly, and I can't help but agree with her. You just can't argue with Adam's logic on anything. "Logic isn't his best suit."

"Yeah!" Adam agrees, with a semi-serious facial expression. "I hope this Christmas isn't like the time when _Spike_ ruined Christmas a couple of years ago. It was a disaster."

"Shut up, I actually have Spike under control now," Chase argues. "He kept glitching."

I sigh and drown out their conversation. I kept thinking about yesterday, since that girl actually thought we were together to give Marcus a sprig of mistletoe. I'm not complaining, but I know that we don't need a small plant as an excuse for Marcus to enjoy my lips. I'm just saying.

"Good afternoon, what kind of—" I turn around immediately, and see the same girl with the blond hair and growing grin standing in front of my family. "Hey, what are you—" I immediately cover her mouth with my hand, and shake my head frantically. My family doesn't need to know that I was here yesterday with Marcus, especially since everyone thinks he's dead. She tries to pry my hand off, and successfully does, after I feel like things are safe. "Really?"

"Uh, who's this?" My mom raises an eyebrow, while everyone stares at me weirdly.

"Oh, _she's_ my new friend from school!' I lie quickly. I don't know who she is, and I look at her to back me up on my lie.

"I've never seen her," Bree replies quickly.

"What's her name?" My mom interrogates, keeping her suspicious eyebrow at me. I would usually crack at this point, but ever since the drone accident, I've learned to control my baby talk. No really, I have. The last time I lied, I actually didn't babble like a baby.

The girl points over to her name badge (that I don't know was there the last time) and I read it quickly. "Her name is Brittany," I answer my mom's question but she doesn't relax. "She goes to Mission Creek High for night school, so of course you don't see her." Luckily, there is a night school program, so it isn't completely a lie. However, I doubt she even attends high school.

"Back to my question," Brittany glares at me, then beams at my already suspicious family. "Is there a specific type of tree you want? We have the false hypoallergenic ones, because if you're like my brother, then you're allergic to pine. Then again, he's allergic to _everything_."

"Actually, do you have any more pine trees? I like the smell!" Big D beams, lighting up like a Christmas tree. How ironic of me to say such a thing. No, really; he's about to jump up and down to seal the deal.

"Stepfather?" She whispers in my ear, with an uncomfortable expression.

"Overly rich, narcissistic, and childish stepfather," I reply dejectedly. She laughs, and points everyone towards the pine trees. Everyone else runs over to the pine trees, while I hang back. "Sorry that I did...that. They don't exactly know about me coming here before with...yeah, my friend." Let's go with that.

"You're not fooling me, shorty," Brittany smirks, adjusting her orange vest. "You two are dating. If not, then you really need to see the signs before someone snatches him up."

"I _don't_ like him like that," I lie. "And what's the deal with the mistletoe? You gave him a mistletoe, and he tried it on me!"

Brittany's grin spreads throughout her face. I almost have a bad feeling about grins on any girl's faces, including my mother's. She's a devious one. "Aw! Did it work?"

"No!" I blush furiously. Of course it worked! Marcus was all over me until I told him I had to be home at a certain time (ignoring the fact that we're not talking much for the rest of the Christmas season). "Of course it didn't! I told you. We don't like each other like that!" Another lie.

"You two were holding hands when you left the parking lot, for fuck's sake!" Brittany argues. "Friends do not hold hands affectionately, especially if it's two guy friends. No, guy friends don't hold each other's hands at all! You two are either dating, or will date in the next few days. Oh and by the way, lucky guess. I actually do attend Mission Creek High for night school."

I don't understand why girls think they have a sixth sense when it comes to dating, because they don't. No, they don't. "Whatever. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I do," she grins, and folds her arms. "While you were looking at the trees yesterday, I asked him if you two were dating. He says, and I quote, 'not _yet_'. So, I assumed that you two will date when you realize that he has obvious feelings for you. Hey, anything can happen." She wags her eyebrows, and waves a piece of mistletoe on thread in front of my face. "The power of the mistletoe compels the both of you."

I roll my eyes, while I see Adam carrying one of the pine trees with ease. Brittany grins, and walks up to Big D, who also has a wide grin on his face. Oh god. This may be the weirdest Christmas ever, but I'm glad I'm spending it with my new family. At least after Christmas, there's a small break before school starts again, and my punishment will be over by then. I'll live for those next few days...or not.

—

I only have a week and a half until Christmas break, and since I'm grounded, I can't go anywhere else besides the lab. I decide to go down there since Adam keeps pestering me about why I'm not in the lab anymore. They're already on a mission, and Big D is coaching them through the mission. As a mission specialist, I aid in the mission-assisting (of course) and do some of the mission reports. It feels like office work, but at least I'm part of the team in some way. I always wanted this since I discovered Big D's three 'secret' lab rats in his basement, and now I'm glad that I am. It's not fighting, but I suck at that already.

Even if I 'stay at the house' more, I don't really feel up to most of the family traditions. I skipped out on the decorating; that's how bad it is.. This is getting really painful, because Marcus hasn't called me, and I'm really worried. I hope he hasn't done anything tragic for the past week. Yeah, I know I'm worrying like a lovesick child, but I already admitted to myself that I like him. It's already complicated, because that changes everything. For starters, I have to go to even _greater_ lengths to hide my relationship with an ex-traitor; assuming that it will happen, I have to endure the internal (and external) battles of my sexuality; and well, I think that's solved when she got a boyfriend, but also with my situation with Janelle. I honestly did give up on her, and after giving up, I felt the biggest weight off my shoulders.

Things suddenly get quiet, and since Eddy's not here to bother us, (well, my mom demanded to deactivate him because he kept _singing_) the silence is big and awkward. I couldn't tell them exactly where I was, so they were more disappointed that I 'lied' and that's why I'm grounded. Ugh. Mom thinks I'm being a fourteen year old delinquent, and who knows what Big D thinks. I really don't want to know.

"So, how are things?" I hear him ask me. I turn around from my mission specialist desk, and stare at him weirdly. Is he _really_ trying to make small talk? "What? In my defense, it was like you were never here. Since you're grounded, maybe we can have a conversation."

"Things are fine?" I reply in question form. Is my disappearance that obvious, or bad? "Uh, I don't know."

"You know you can tell me anything that's bothering you, right?"

Of course I know that, but the only thing that's bothering me, besides staying away from Marcus, is that everyone keeps interrogating me. Mom questions my new friends, Bree questions who I'm involved with, and now Big D questions what's wrong. I'm growing tired of it, but I know they're concerned about my well-being. "I know."

"Okay, just reminding you, because you've changed a bit." Yeah, that's not the first time I've heard that. Earlier, Chase asks everyone why I'm acting so 'weird', like I wasn't in the room. He complains how quiet and secretive I'm being. I don't get it. I stormed out of the room, which inhibits me from hearing the rest of the conversation. "You probably haven't noticed, but we have."

"I guess I'm maturing," I say back. I haven't broken anything, or cause an explosion, so maybe I am maturing in some way. I don't know. I notice it too, but I thought everyone would appreciate it. "I haven't caused any mass destruction in a while."

"That makes me happy, and worries me all at the same time," he jokes. I smile back, but I don't really feel up to it. "I'm proud that you're finally growing up in your own way. I know I haven't been there for a while, but that doesn't mean anything. You're still family, and...I love you."

"Aw, I've never heard you say that to me!" I mock, with a more sincere grin. Although it's supposed to be a very serious moment, I couldn't resist. That actually lifted my spirits up for a few seconds. "I love you too, Big D."

For that small moment, I almost forgot about Marcus. _Almost_. When Adam, Bree, and Chase come back from their mission, they're really happy since the mission is complete. They talk about how the mission goes, and I pretend to listen intently. I don't really say anything, because the mission isn't exciting in the first place, but it would seem really suspicious if I don't pretend to listen for a while.

While Big D congratulates them, my phone vibrates. I pick it up, and it shows a notification that Marcus texted me. I scan it, and quickly (yet quietly,) I leave the lab. They don't really notice me leaving, but my mom is already sitting at the couch, reading a Christmas magazine. I quickly power walk towards the stairs, and before she notices me, I'm already upstairs. Why I'm sneaking around the house is beyond me, but I need to make things less suspicious. I reach up to my room and Marcus is standing there, with a hopeful stare. I sigh, "You couldn't keep waiting either, right?"

"No. In the past week, I realized something." He slowly walks up to me, and I'm not sure what I should do. It's not the first time he's snuck inside my room, but it's the first time when I'm not in the room, and he tells me about it. I know it has to be serious. I watch while he opens and closes his mouth, trying to say something. "Well, there's no easy way to say this, but I can't exactly stay away from you. It's been half a week, and I can't wait anymore."

"What are you saying?" I ask.

He sighs, but it's not an annoyed sigh. It's nothing of the sorts. "Even though this...was short, it fucking sucks without you being by my side. I can't really do anything except wait for my impending burnout. You actually made me feel less of a robot and more of a human. I guess you've grown on me...no, it's more than that. I think - no, I know for a fact that I really, really like you. And I'm not good with romance or relationships, but uh—"

I stop listening in the middle of the speech, walk up to him, and grab his shoulders (and tip toe, might I add) to kiss him, passionately. He makes a small, shocked noise, but he relaxes and kisses back. He places his normal and bandaged hand around my sides, which brings us closer. I move my hands from his shoulders to his neck, as he parts his lips a little, allowing me to deepen it. Sounds of small moans and wet kissing circle the room, and i'm pretty thankful for soundproof walls, because no one needs to hear what's going on. I start to feel lightheaded, so I pull away, and exhale. He's slightly flushed, but his partly swollen lips twitch into a genuine smirk.

I kiss him again, and again. "Yeah, your dramatic eyebrows has grown on me too."

"You're an idiot," he chuckles, and he kisses me again.

* * *

**AN: And boom goes the dynamite! Boom! I said, boom! They're a couple now. You can come out of hiding now. I know it's really fast, but honestly, it was going to happen. I have a whole lot of chapters planned anyway (which is a lot of internal battles in Leo's point of view, and some randomness between him and the Lab Rats...and more Meo duh), and I'm almost up to February, the shortest month of the year, and also a depressing month for singles and forever alones like me! #foreveralonefebruary (It's also my birthday month but that's not important...I mean whut)**

**I cannot, cannot stress enough to review. I only received two reviews last chapter. I was seriously thinking of holding the story to be a big-fat-meanie, but then that would be hypocritical of me. Come on. Are you guys waiting on the final moment, because it literally just happened. Review, or you will all feel my thirst. Seriously. The thirst is real. Feed into the thirst and review. If you review, I'll give you the new years chapter way faster! (which is on Wednesday so it's a win-win)**

**Also, I shall start making the Meo community. I'm not sure if I'll link it, but by December 28, it should be up. Annnnnd, just so you know, none of my OC's will affect Meo in any way (well, if you count life lessons, then yeah) but they're my cherished OC's so tread carefully. My first one (the one in this chapter) won't be much in this story, but my second one will, so keep reading and reviewing. If you want any face claims, the first one is Olivia Holt from Kickin' It and I Didn't Do It. The second one, I'm still deciding.**

**Edit 12/28: I finally upped the rating. There's no actual smut in this story at all, but there is a smexual scene. It's not the next chapter. It's for precautionary reasons.**

**I hope all of you have had a wonderful Christmas, and Boxing Day (for those who celebrate, because us 'Muricans don't know what it is [I kind of do]) and I'll see you next chapter!**


	6. New Year

**Disclaimer: My 2014 New Years Resolution is to take over Disney HQ and own Lab Rats.**

* * *

Christmas is even more uneventful, because Perry comes over and wreaks havoc. It's even harder when you can't scrub that image of Perry reinterpreting Frosty the Snowman with her jingle-bell onesie. Not only that, she steals our food, and destroys the Christmas tree that everyone spent time decorating. I think there's a lesson learned about principals knowing where you live: _never_ let them inside your house after they don't have an alternative way to get home.

I hate how she does one nice thing, and makes it disgusting and unfair, with the fingernail dirt she put in the food that made me temporarily sick. I was throwing up for two days, but I wasn't alone. Mom didn't feel too hot, and Big D had it way worse than anyone else. Since Adam, Bree, and Chase are bionic, their sickness was short-lived. Lucky for them.

Now that Christmas is over (and Perry sold my game in exchange for pants suits and men shirts!), I'll probably expect some detentions. I don't know, but Perry is crazy. For every little thing, I tend to get in trouble.

Tomorrow is the last day of the year, and even though everyone has plans to get out the house, I know who I rather spend it with. The guys are going to a party at some guy's house (I didn't really bother with the name) and Mom's trying to persuade Big D to go to the countdown party in the city, so I'm the only one without plans.

"Are you sure you don't wanna come?" Chase questions me for the umpteenth time today. He's been asking me to this party since they got the text early in the day, and I rather not go. "You know your mom doesn't trust you alone in the house. And...I heard Janelle's gonna be there."

"That's not going to work on me," I deadpan. Seriously; even before Marcus, I stopped trying. "One, i got over her. And two, she has a boyfriend."

"They broke up two weeks ago! Where have you been?" Chase interrogates, with a slightly confused look. "You've literally been in a rabbit hole for the past few weeks. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, god _damn_ it," I give him an annoyed scowl. I'm really tired of people asking me that question. Everything is okay. Everything is more than okay. "Stop asking me that question."

"Then come!"

I roll my eyes, and I know that he won't stop asking me until I say yes. I really hate his persistency. "Fine. However, I get the privilege to leave when things get way too chaotic."

"But we're responsible—"

"So you're responsible for me to return back home safely," I say. Chase nods in agreement, but I know he thinks something's up. "I will go home. That is, if it gets way too crazy. For example, Trent shows up and decides to toss me around in a circle along with his football team, or you drink a shitload of punch and you start _taking off your clothes again_ for a bionic strip show."

"Shut up! In my defense, I didn't know the punch had ethyl alcohol in it!" he argues back.

"Chase, normal people just say 'booze', or 'liquid confidence'!" I half-shout. "Can you please just act normal this time? _No_ drinks, _no_ cake, and _no_ Spike."

"I remember that!" Adam chuckles from the fridge. "The entire strip show is on some website—"

"WHAT—?"

"—It's called...Vine, perhaps? Don't ask. Anyway, I didn't know until Bree showed it to me. It was even more funny because they replaced the song with some strip music."

"Oh my god!" I start to laugh uncontrollably, while Chase's face turns a hue of deep red. He was known as 'strip boy' for weeks after, when random guys would imitate his dancing, or girls would try to hit on him. Too bad he turned them all down. "I remembered that too! It was all over the internet! Dude, you were an internet sensation! Too bad you deleted your accounts."

"Shut up," he growls, and walks away, while we keep laughing.

—

As soon as we reach the New Years party, I know something's going to happen that's not good. For one, I see the football team standing in front of the door, drinking from red cups. I suck it up and try to make my way through the midst of idiotic teenagers, but I feel a sharp shove on the right side of me, knocking me down on the grass. "What the_ fuck_, man?" I groan, and stand up from the floor, but I feel another shove, pushing me back to the floor.

"What's up, short stuff?" the voice immediately makes me whip my head to the side, and see the nineteen-year-old Trent standing above me, with a wicked grin on his face. "Enjoying the floor?"

"Yeah, actually, it's _really_ comfortable," I retort, and look towards Adam for backup. He grins in response. "You wanna try it?"

"I don't think—" before Trent can finish his sentence, Adam picks him up from the floor, and throws him on the grass, away from me. I laugh, along with the group of students outside. "Ew! I got planted in vomit!"

I feel twin hands around my waist, and I'm airborne temporarily until I land on my feet. "Thanks," I mutter, and we walk inside the house. The party's already in full swing, and I can already smell the impending strip show from Chase later due to the alcohol. "So, we should—" I stop, when I see the guys running their separate ways. I sigh exasperatingly, and proceed my way over to seek calmness. I don't particularly like much teenage parties when everyone does illegal things, so I like to steer clear.

There's no calm part of the house, so I go upstairs, where I see teens in every corner, making out or lining up for the second bathroom of the house. I know each room has people having sex, so I'm definitely not safe. However, I feel a tug on my shirt. I turn around, and almost scream to see Marcus staring back at me, with his signature eyebrow and smirk combo. "What the_ fuck_ are you doing here?" I hiss. "You know everyone thinks you're dead!"

Marcus elicits a fake gasp. "Excuse me! It was on my list to attend a stupid party."

"I didn't mean it like that," I roll my eyes. "But, you know I wouldn't come here by myself, right?" I pull him into the only empty bedroom, and lock the door behind me. "You know Adam, Bree, and Chase are here."

"I'm pretty sure they're hanging out with their own friends," Marcus says offhandedly, and throw his hands up in a small shrug. "And, I wanted to see you, so I snuck in here, and waited a few minutes. Who knows, they might be distracted by a second showing of Chase's strip-tease."

"I'm sure no one wants to see _that_ again," I reply flatly. I don't really want to see another preview of my stepbrother's junk...again. The first time wasn't really a great sight. "I know I don't."

"Well, then, stay here with me," Marcus whispers dangerously. He backs up towards the bed, and sits on it, while keeping his eyes on me. " Come on, Leo. I don't bite...on the first date." Marcus pats the seat next to him, and wags his eyebrows at me, which makes my small frown, twitch into a grin.

"You're an idiot," I utter, making my way over to the bed to sit really close to Marcus. "However, you're _my_ idiot, so I guess I have to deal with your blatant idiocy for a while."

I lean back on the bed, and Marcus follows suit, but Marcus puts his left arm on my shoulder. I lean closer to him, my head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat against my ear. This isn't the first time we've cuddled, but it's the first time where it's in a bed, and we're _actually_ together. Weird, we're together. It's weird saying it, and thinking it—

"Stop thinking so much," Marcus whispers. I groan out loud, because I almost forgot about his stupid telepathy. Out of all the bionic hidden abilities he can develop, he just had to have telepathy. Even though it's better than any of my step-siblings developing telepathy, I know that I cannot lie, or hide something from him. That isn't particularly fun, to think about it.

"Don't tell me what to do," I joke back, and lift my head from his chest. "It's bad enough that you can read my thoughts. Why couldn't you develop levitation, or teleportation?"

"I don't know, I thought my hidden ability would be all of Adam, Bree, and Chase's bionic abilities combined, and then some," Marcus explains. I thought so too, since he does have all of their abilities. He would have molecular-kinesis, vocal manipulation, and energy blasts all at once, and maybe teleportation and face contorting. Even though Douglas is evil, he's pretty smart. "It would be fun to have their hidden abilities, though."

"I don't know Marcus, does vocal manipulation sound cool to you?" I question.

"Yes, it _actually_ does," he replies with a chuckle. "I would _love_ that. I would imitate a lot of voices, especially yours to freak you out."

"It wouldn't annoy me, because I know my voice is sexy," I smirk flirtatiously, while he raises an eyebrow. "And so do you."

He hums for a moment. "Yeah, let's go with that."

I roll my eyes, and lean forward. "You think so." Marcus meets me half-way into a slow kiss, where we both make small noises simultaneously as soon as our lips touch. I feel him grinning, and he bites my lip momentarily to allow himself entrance. I comply, and my body goes into autopilot, allowing Marcus to flip our position. Marcus straddles me, and keeps his elbows locked on either side of my head while I lay under him, my hands on his sides. Marcus kisses me even deeper, causing me to whimper slightly in a high octave I never thought possible. He pulls away slightly, his breath masking over my lips for a few seconds, and kisses my jaw, down to my neck. I gasp, especially when he reaches a very sensitive spot, also making me squirm under him.

My back arches and I moan out his name, when he bites my neck sharply. My eyes flutter shut, feeling short waves of pleasure ripple through me. Marcus smirks against my skin, and I hear a low growl before he nips against my sensitive skin. I keep my hands by his sides, and start moving my nails against his clothed skin. I hear a sharp hiss, while he moves up against my skin with his tongue. He kisses my chin, and captures my lips again. I play with the hem of his shirt, and it rides up slightly. I feel his particularly rough skin against my fingers, which elicits a sharp, muffled mewl. He pulls away again, and he leans his forehead against mine.

I open my mouth to say something, but I hear loud chanting coming from downstairs. I know that it's not 11:50 yet, but the chanting sounds vaguely familiar. I push Marcus off softly, and run towards the door. I open it and walk out of the room, Marcus following suit. There's a large crowd building near the living room area, and I see a shirt flying towards some girl. I hear wolf whistles and a heavy bass song in the background. I descend the stairs and even though some of the crowd blocks my view, I can clearly see a drunk Chase with his shirt off, dancing provocatively on top of a coffee table.

"Oh no, not again," I mutter, while I hear a distinct chuckle from Marcus on my right.

Chase haphazardly removes his pants, and throws it towards the side, and people are yelling his alias, 'strip boy'. I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. I specifically told him to steer clear from the punch and what does he do? He goes _towards_ the punch. God-damn it. I can't believe it. My train of thought comes to a halt when I see a pair of boxers hit the lamp to my left, and my jaw drops to see a naked Chase in front of the crowd. I groan, while louder wolf whistles circle around the naked bionic teenager. "What did I do to deserve this?" I groan.

"I don't know what you're talking about, he's really—"

"Finish that and I will _make you regret it_," I growl in annoyance and slight jealousy. "This is my brother! That's just wrong!"

I take his hand, and we ascend the stairs, back to the bedroom. Things are getting crazy again, and I don't want it to get even crazier. I check the time, and it is exactly 11:50 pm. It's ten minutes until a new year. It seems like I'm spending it with a drunk Chase, an MIA Adam and Bree, and Marcus, who can't be seen around a lot of people. Great, I couldn't ask for _anything better_.

"Well, that was a _great_ re-showing of a strip show," I mutter. I'll definitely be seeing that on my news feed later tomorrow. "I just hope it makes Chase learn his lesson about drinking the punch..._again_."

"Hey, in his defense, it does taste good," Marcus defends, with a shrug.

"You're not helping, Marcus."

"I'm sorry Leo," he throws his hands in the air in defeat. "But no need to worry about that. You seemed like you were going to say something before you push me off. What was it?"

"I was simply going to compliment you on your skills, but I think you already know that," I smile. He quirks his eyebrow, and steps closer to me, his arms strictly parallel to my head, while I lean against the door. "It was a 'boost up your ego' type of moment. Too bad Chase's stripping killed the moment."

"He didn't kill the moment," he whispers, breathing slightly on the shell of my ear. "As a matter of fact, we still have a few minutes. Let's continue this party of two." He retreats from my ear, and moves to the other side of my neck. He immediately reaches down another sensitive spot, and I throw my head back with a groan. I know I'll have marks by tomorrow morning, but at this very moment, I don't really care. My eyes flutter shut, and I steady myself by placing my hands on the wall. Just by him on my neck almost makes my legs give out, but I'm almost glad that the pleasure doesn't spread to...other places. I'm not ready for that, nor am I embarrassing myself like that.

He moves away, and I let out an unsatisfied groan. He chuckles, and leans down to kiss me. I reciprocate, and push his back against the door. Even though I'm shorter and weaker, it doesn't mean I don't have my moments. I trail down to his neck, down to his collarbone, with small, peppering kisses. With the little experience I have, I capture one part of his neck, which causes him to hiss sharply. That's good, right? I think so. I softly graze my teeth against his skin, almost like what he did to me, and it causes him to groan. I smirk against his skin for a small moment, allowing some triumph wash over me, before moving up to his neck, then to the shell of his ear. I breathe slightly on it before capturing his lobe with my teeth. he hisses again, whispering my name a few times. I pull back, and I see he's flushed heavily.

"So, was I good?" I ask.

"No," Marcus pants. "You were great."

I grin triumphantly, and kiss him shortly. "Luckily, all that making out killed some time. We have two minutes left." I point towards the clock, which reads 11:58 pm. I don't want to miss the last two minutes, but I don't want anyone seeing him. If he's caught, I'm toast. "What should we do?"

"Just go downstairs and enjoy the rest of the party. I'll be fine," Marcus waves off.

"Not being clingy, but I _really_ want you there with me," I admit, with a pout. Marcus blushes, and reaches over to touch my face. "You're my boyfriend and I want to start the new year with the traditional New Year's kiss with you. I will not allow any other person to capture these gorgeous lips. Consider yourself lucky."

"I'm already lucky," he smiles, and he kisses me again. "Fine, but I'm keeping my hood up. Just for precautionary reasons."

"Good." He moves out-of-the-way, and I open the door. He puts his hood up, and we both leave the bedroom. We ignore the throes of passion in other rooms as we descend the stairs, as the group stand in front of the house with a big ticker. Wow, they really went all out with this thing. Considering that we're on the west coast, we're the second to last to experience the new year, so by the time it's midnight, it might be a new day for another part of town. It sucks, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Alright, are you guys ready?" I hear someone cheer. I don't really join in the countdown since it's a waste of air, but at the last ten seconds, I join in. I hold Marcus' hand at the five, and he squeezes in response at the four. At the last three seconds, I finally find Adam, but he doesn't see me. When everyone cheers Happy New Year, I grin, and pull Marcus in for a kiss, despite my swollen lips. It's my first (definitely not counting the times that mom kissed me on the cheek, of course) and it's almost magical. I smile into the kiss, and he pulls away, his eyes sparkling.

This is the start to a wonderful year.

* * *

**AN: Happy 2014! I hope all of you are having a wonderful first day of the year, considering that I haven't updated this story since last year. Sorry, IT HAD TO BE DONE.**

**Anyway, I thank you all for your kind reviews. This isn't much as so a filler correlated with a yearly tradition, but hey, my favorite part was writing strip boy Chase. I just thought after the Crash, Chop, and Burn episode when he spazzed after eating cake, he would also go crazy after drinking alcohol. Witty, isn't it? Yeah, it wasn't for the fact that my readers would imagine a shirtless Billy Unger. (#gag)  
**

**Anyway, please review. I shall not stress that enough. Well, I can, but whatever.**

**Have a Happy First Day of 2014. And for those who already did, shut up. New Years comes later for us westerners.**


	7. Set-Up

**Disclaimer: No one laughs at my witty disclaimers, so I'll just make it short. I don't own Lab Rats. I own a bottle of...how do you say, water? (Ugh, stop saying words you _clearly_ know how to say!)**

* * *

It's been an hour into the new year, and I can't find anyone. I lost Adam again in the midst of drunk and high teenagers. I'm pretty sure it's my mom who keeps calling me on my phone. I'm standing between two couples who are making out, and I'm not sure why. I wanted something, and I end up here, but now I want to go back upstairs. I move from the wedge I've been for the past few minutes, and I see Adam looking under the coffee table, with clothes in his hand. I'm sure he's looking for either me or the rest of Chase's clothes.

I walk up to him, and tap him on the shoulder. "Find what you're looking for under there?"

He looks over to me, and gasps, dropping everything to hug me tightly. "Oh my god, I thought I lost you forever!"

"Uh, did you _really_ think I was under there?" I croak, since his incessant crushing is making me unable to breathe. "God, it's the first day of the year and I'm gonna die, thanks to my _freakishly_ strong brother!"

As if he heard me, he immediately lets go of me, and I inhale sharply. Any more crushing, and he might crack a rib, seriously. "I'm still looking for Chase's shoes, but they're so tiny that I can't find them under the naked eye. Leo! You're short like him, maybe you can find them."

I immediately scowl at that; some things may never change. "Yeah, _that's_ it, or," I point over to the shoes in the far corner, near the fridge. "They're over there, where _everyone_ can see them!"

He looks over there, and his mouth shapes into a small 'o' before grabbing the shoes. "Thanks, I knew I can count on you." I pick up the rest of Chase's clothing that he neglects to pick up. "Now, we need to find Chase. The last time I saw him, he went upstairs with some girl from school. Bree's missing too, so we have to find her as well. Wow, I've never felt like the responsible big brother until now."

I sigh, and we both ascend the stairs, two at a time. "Okay, there's twenty rooms up here. Should we check every room?"

"We have no choice," I reply. We stand at the first door, and realize it's covered in a sock. I ignore my slight disgust and move on to the next door. The next door, that I know of, has Marcus there, probably wondering where I am, so I came up with an idea. "Hey, how about you check the last ten doors, and I check the first ten? We call each other if we find either of them."

"Sounds like a plan," Adam agrees, and runs to the end of the hallway. Sometimes, his easily led attitude has its perks. I sigh, and open the door to see Marcus sitting on the slightly messy bed. Even though we only made out for forty-five minutes in here earlier, it's only slightly messy. Too bad we rolled over so much that we fell off the bed. I have the developing bruise to prove it.

"Should I go?" Marcus questions immediately, since he already heard the conversation outside the door.

"Yeah, things are already getting crazy and...there's only one sober bionic teenager among us. Adam still hates you, no matter how gullible he is," I explain. He grimaces, but I can clearly see the hurt in his eyes. "Don't worry, you'll see me soon, even if you have to sneak in my room to see me."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," he jokes, his swollen lips turning into a smirk.

"I swear by the light of the dragon's eye to be your loyal boyfriend and never say die," I joke back, with an equally suggestive smirk.

Marcus rolls his eyes. "Only you would make that reference at a time like this." He cups my face with his bandaged hand, and kisses me for a few seconds. "Thanks, again. I really needed the company tonight."

"No need to thank me," I reply. He drops his hand, and walks over to the window. He looks back to wave at me, then using super speed, he jumps out and runs back to his home. I turn around, and leave the room, seeing the hallway vacant of any teenagers. "Adam? Where are you?" I yell.

"I found them!" He yells back. I run over to the open door, and he's standing there, dressing an unconscious Chase back into his underwear. "Please help me."

"Ew, I'm not touching Chase's junk!" I recoil in obvious disgust; I don't know what he was doing, and I don't _want_ to know. "That's just wrong."

"Just put his shirt on, you big baby!" Adam reprimands. Slightly taken aback, I grab the shirt from the bed. I lift up each arm, and push the shirt sleeve through his arm, one by one. At least this is easier than Adam's job, which is to put on his underwear and pants back on. If this was me, I would leave everyone naked to wonder what happened last night. Yeah, that's right. Even though I would have help to push everyone to the self-driving car, it would happen.

I put Chase's other shirt on, and I drop his arms down in disgust. He's sweaty! I'm sorry, but he's my brother. Things would be _slightly_ different if he wasn't. I put emphasis on the word '_slightly_' for a reason. "Having fun there?" I snort, after seeing Adam already tangled in Chase's jeans.

"Shut up, this is a new level for me!" He pouts, while I successfully remove the tangle between his jeans and Adam's arms.

"This isn't a video game," I reply. "Just put one hole in each leg. Easy as pie."

"Pie is easy?" He asks stupidly. I face-palm immediately; I should've realized that I'm dealing with a _big_ dummy like Adam. I snatch the pants away from his reach, and put his jeans on.

"Forget the shoes, just get these two in the car," I command, pointing to the sleeping figures on the bed. Adam shrugs, and grabs the both of them with ease. He leaves the room while I pick up Chase's shoes from the floor. I'm on my way towards the stairs, and I crash onto a strong body, colliding to the floor. "Ugh, come on—" I stop myself when I look up, realizing that it's not Trent or _any_ of those football freaks.

I immediately scramble off the floor, and stand in front of Janelle, who stares at me confused. "Sorry, uh, I thought it was Trent again. He pushed me last year. Heh, get it? Last year! Huh, the joke is—"

"I know the joke already," Janelle interrupts, yet she still has a confused look on her face. "Looks like you were in a rush."

"Yeah, I'm going home before something bad happens," I explain. "The strip show, the explosions, the dancing...I'm tired of it all. Time to enjoy my first day of the year at home, you know?"

"Sure," she replies. "Uh, we should hang out again, like old times. Well, not counting the times you froze me with your stepfather's _invention_ or your grandma _cockblocking_ us. Or, when you stood me up at the movies and tried to explain some crazy mission you had to do."

"Oh…" oh god. This is a problem. I thought she really didn't like me back, and she wanted something platonic. If I had known that, I wouldn't have entered a relationship already! Wait, maybe not... "Sure, I guess we can hang out. We're just hanging out, right?"

"Yeah, I'm not asking you out on a _date_!" Janelle laughs nervously, but I can clearly see some hurt twinkling in her eyes. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but what am I to do? (Why am I so attractive?) "We haven't been for a couple of weeks, so I thought why not."

"Great, I'll see you at school!" I wave at her, and descend the stairs quickly. The party's dwindling, so that's a good thing. Adam's already in the car, with the passenger seat already clear for me. I silently call shotgun, and sit in the passenger seat. I put my seatbelt on, and I feel a pair of eyes on me. "What?"

"So...how did the talk go?" He asks, already driving away from the house.

"It went fine?" I reply, in question form. "Did you set me up for this?"

"No, but she did ask about you all night," he reveals, surprisingly keeping his eyes on the road. You know, for a dim-witted guy, he isn't a bad driver. It wouldn't surprise me either if Chase was a bad driver. "I figured I try to lure the both of you in so you can attempt another relationship with her."

Another? "Uh, thanks," I shrug. In honesty, I'm not in the _least_ bit interested in Janelle, anymore. I don't even think I was ever _truly_ interested, or would _ever_ be interested, even if I wasn't already in a relationship. "I'll try my best."

"Sounds like you're not okay with this," he hints.

"I am!" Lie. "I just...it seems all of a sudden. The year just started. I have to breathe in the new year air, you know?" Another lie.

"I have no idea what the hell you just said, but it seems like you're lying," he says, while parking the car in front of the house. My eyes widen in surprise; can he _really_ detect if I'm lying? Oh my god. I dropped the baby talk, but is there something else that I do? "God, I was just kidding! You should've seen the look on your face!" He laughs and points at me. I narrow my eyes, and step out of the car while he's still laughing.

"Ha ha, _very_ funny," I mock. He's still laughing when he picks up his unconscious siblings from the backseat, and I open the door to the mansion. "Just get them inside their capsules. You do know which capsule they go to, right?"

"Duh, I'm not _that_ stupid," he waves off, but I follow him to the lab. The lights are off, but the minute Adam walks in, the lights flicker on. "Wait, which capsule is theirs?"

I let out an annoyed sigh. "I knew you would screw up. You're on the left, Chase is in the middle, and Bree's in the far right. You do know left from right, _right_?"

"Shut up," he scowls, and puts them in their respective capsules. From the last time Chase was drunk, it easily detected the toxin in his system, but he was still hung over since he's human. He was only sick for a few hours. "You should go to bed too."

"Yeah, I was just making sure you don't screw up," I smile at him. He rolls his eyes, and closes his capsule door.

—

"Apparently none of you were aware that it is a new year...and neither am I." It's a pretty boring first day, yet even my chemistry teacher can try to make it not boring by putting the previous year on the board as a joke. I don't really care, but a few lazy chuckles circle around the room. He announces a new topic, and I'm not really eyes and ears this time since it is organic chemistry, but this is the only class that holds most of my attention for a while.

That's _saying_ something.

At least I did not get any detentions or anything. I really thought that Principal Perry would seriously put me on lockdown simply because my family didn't give her much hospitality at our humble home for Christmas. In our defense, she came in unannounced. I also tried to return the socks she gave me, but she one-ups me yet again, saying that I don't have to attend a four-hour detention if I kept the socks.

I'm going to burn them later today.

This is also one of the few classes I have friends in, since Chase is in this class (our school doesn't fund for advanced placement...figure out why) and I'm sitting next to an inattentive Janelle. Back when Marcus was 'alive', I actually had a lab partner that wasn't full of himself (before showing his true colors) or was a girl. Well, except for one girl.

I still can't believe she actually likes me. I always felt like I was forever friend zoned with her. What changed?

'Can anyone tell me what an isomer is?" Immediately, Chase's hand shoots up, but no one else raises their hands. No one _wants_ to answer, including me. "No one?" He checks the attendance roster for the list of names, and lights up when he sees a name. Let me guess - "Mr. Dooley?"

Of course. "Uh, I'm pretty sure my stepbrother Chase knows the answer to that problem! He knows _everything_, except Get a Girl 101," I sidetrack, causing some of the students to snigger.

"Yes, but I picked you," he states.

I sigh, "Uh, a different compound having the same molecular formula?"

"I don't know, is it?" He snarks, which causes me to snarl in response. "Seriously, don't question your knowledge, Leo. Tell me what you think an isomer is, don't say it in a form of a question."

"I think it's a different compound that has the same molecular formula," I repeat, through gritted teeth.

"Excellent!" He cheers, and writes some words on the board. I mindlessly write them down, while I get a death glare from Chase. I know he's mad about that small, offhanded comment, but I couldn't resist. It's boring in here!

When class is over, Chase pulls me towards our lockers, where Adam is standing. He's putting books (that he's _never_ used) inside his locker. "Really? Was that necessary?" He hisses. "Why must you try to embarrass me in front of everyone like that?"

"_No_ one knows who you are!" Adam argues, with an amused grin. "I mean, seriously, if anyone asks for Chase Davenport, the other person would automatically say 'Chase who?' because no one knows who you are. You're so short, that you're hard to see under the naked eye."

"Uh huh, don't make me shrink you again," Chase retorts.

"Or what? You know you'll still be the tiny little brother whether I'm two feet tall or not," Adam retorts back, sticking out his tongue. "Deal with it, Chase. You're just too tiny for words."

I roll my eyes; it's really amusing how easy Chase can get when Adam gets him off guard. It's like an old married couple arguing over who needs to clean the kitchen. Wait, why did I make that connection? Whatever. I'm just saying. They're still arguing when I shy away from them, so I can get to my next class. I'll let someone else deal with them for the time being. Now, I need to finish with the day.

—

The day goes by quicker than usual, and I'm on the way home. Chase stayed at school for chess club, Bree's off with Owen (as _usual_), and Adam ended school an hour ago, so he should already be home. It's a short walk, and I trudge briskly through the chilly wind. It's weird how the winter gets a little cold in this state, but at least I get away from hot summer for a while. Before I know it, the door to the mansion is in front of me, and I open it to see a large mountain of nachos, and overflowing cheese.

Of course, do I _have_ to ask?

"Uh, what did you create? Or _attempt_ to create?" I ask Adam, who's eating all the jalapeños on the nacho mountain.

"A volcano!" He rejoices, licking the cheese fondue from his fingers. "A volcano, of nachos!"

"Okay..." I trail off, and close the door behind me. "That's not weird at all."

"Hey! I'm hungry! The school doesn't serve very great stuff during lunch time," he argues. "Plus, I wanted a snack. However, I got carried away again. You have to admit, it's not a bad idea to enjoy a snack."

"Whatever," I shrug off my bag and coat, placing them on the couch. "Why did I even have to question it in the first place?"

"Because you totally want some," he wiggles his eyebrows, and I shake my head. I should start on homework before any other distractions (both good and bad) interrupt me from doing so. I have an English quiz in a few days also, but I'm not worried about that. I recently asked mom to re-buy the game that they gave to Perry on Christmas, and she said she would if I bring my grades up. I hate that, especially when I worked hard for the first one. "Wait, what did you say to Chase anyway?"

"I said that he knows _everything_, but Get a Girl 101," I recall, causing the elder to chuckle amusedly. Looking back at it, it is pretty funny, but I don't really laugh. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's funny, because it's true!" he keeps laughing, while his mouth is still full of nachos. "So, I found out by some theater geek that there's going to be a screen showing of some 1950's movies all next week. They said it would bring in money for the play they're doing in two weeks, and Perry's only accepting it if she gets at least 50 percent of the earnings."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because…" he trails off, and eats a cheese-covered jalapeño. "It gave me an idea of your first date with Janelle."

I hold back a groan; honestly, I don't want to go on a date with someone I don't have feelings for, but Adam is being too persistent for words. "Uh, thanks? Seriously, I don't really need any help—"

"Yes you do," he states. "She's not dating anyone, and neither are you."

If only you knew. "I - fine. But, please don't help me any further. I think I rather let this play out on its own. The fact that she's remotely even interested in me is perplexing."

"Yeah, I always thought she would never notice how you always stare at her. Then after she dumped her boyfriend, she started looking at you in the same way." he explains, which still doesn't explain everything. "Anyway, that's how I figured it out. I may not know certain things, but I'm not stupid." He grins at me, while I nervously try to grin myself. "Oh, and I'm pretty sure she'll ask you in a few minutes or so."

With that, my phone rings. "What? How did you—"

"Actually, I wasn't aware of _that_." He happily skips away to the lab, leaving the 75% eaten nacho mountain on the kitchen island. I stare at my phone, and I'm not sure if I want to answer it, but that would be disrespectful to not answer the phone.

With a deep, indecisive sigh, I press answer. "Hey, uh, yeah. Hey."

"Hey," Janelle replies, and I'm mentally slapping my forehead. Why am I acting nervous around someone I don't like anymore? "So, remember when I said we should hang out some more with no interruptions?"

"I remember that."

There's a pregnant pause, which makes me question if she's still on the phone. "Uh, so there's this film festival event at school all next week, and I was wondering if we can go on Friday. I would say any other day, but I'm _swamped_ with studying."

Well, at least it's a Friday. I'm not making any other plans on Friday, besides staying in. It's bad enough that it's a one-sided date. I should be cheering, but I'm just standing in the front of the living room, feeling like a jackass to _lead a girl on_. "Sure. That'll be great."

"Great! I'll see you on Friday!" She hangs up the phone, and I revel in the silence for a while before going upstairs to my room. I have a horrible feeling that I'll break some hearts, but that's what I get for being so dishonest and passive. It's a spoken and unspoken rule that no one should date anyone else while they're in a relationship, but what they don't know, won't hurt them.

I just pray that Marcus doesn't ask me out on a date on the _same_ day.

* * *

**AN: Fun fact. Part of this chapter was part of the eighth chapter. Can you guess which part? Haha, _don't answer that_. But yeah. Whatever. I'm glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter. I enjoyed writing it. It was my favorite, until I wrote the Valentine's day chapter. Cough. Don't even ask me what's gonna happen. **

**I'm really, really, really sorry this is so so so late! The site just kept acting up yesterday, so I couldn't update at all, and I was lazy on Sunday. Okay. Just for this stupid bug, I plan to post chapter 8 (one of my favorite chapters! sorry guys, I just really enjoy writing this story) in the next three days. I hope you guys will be okay with that (of course you would!)**

**Thank you all for your awesome reviews. I reread them and get giddy, and eat candy (okay not really, but I do reread them) so I'll give you all virtual candy. Oh my god, what is wrong with me? Oh well, just review!**


	8. Two Dates and a Lesbian

**Disclaimer: You're supposed to be watching the door. Stop worrying about me owning Lab Rats, and watch the _goddamn_ door!**

* * *

My silence breaks when I trip over something hard, and land on the floor, face first. I hear a distinct chuckle, and look over to the side to see Marcus chuckling like there's no tomorrow. "Thanks _so much_ for tripping me!"

"I know, I'm a bad person," he replies, and helps me up from the floor. I glare at him, but it's short-lived when my harsh glare turns into a panicking stare, and I reach over, wrapping my arms around his shoulders in an embrace. His warmth immediately welcomes me, and I forgot the million and one things that I almost freaked out about. "You're _really_ happy to see me."

"Yeah, you could say that," I dismiss. "But just keep quiet for a few minutes." Marcus doesn't reply, and embraces me back with no hesitation. It's so bad how much I'll be hurting the both of us since I'm going on a date with another girl, and he'll find out just by listening to my thoughts. I can't hide anything, but even though it's a bad thing (at times), I know that honesty is _crucial_ in this short-lived relationship. He only has less than four months left, and I'm not looking forward to that at all. I rather find some sort of way to fix him up and let him live longer than he should, than to let him wither away. However, I think that's the biggest reason why we're together.

I'm attaching myself so quickly to Marcus, who was my enemy a few months ago, and that's not good. No, it isn't. That means that his death would be sadder than it was when he 'died' during the showdown. I know I have to say something, but for now, I can just stay silent for a few more minutes. When I feel like it, I'll tell (if I have to), and try to reason the situation. Even if that happens, someone will get hurt.

"Leo, I appreciate this moment of silence, but I really came here to—" I resist the urge to growl in annoyance and smash my lips against his. There's a muffled sound before I feel Marcus kissing back. His hands travel down south, and I make a small, muffled whimper, feeling my toes curl in my shoes. I move back towards my bed, and feel myself being pushed onto it. I don't let go, however feeling his weight crashing on my chest causes me to gasp.

In mid-gasp, he bites my lower lip with a growl, and situates his legs between mine. I barely notice it until he rolls his hips against mine momentarily. I groan, failing miserably to not to make any more noise (even though no one will be home for another half-hour, and I know you can't hear any noise from the lab). He pulls away and I see the mischievous flicker in his eyes, with a smirk.

"I came here to ask you something," he whispers. "Unless, you're going to give me another distraction."

"Sure, what is it?" I ask.

Marcus sighs, and leans back completely. kneeling against my bed. I also take the opportunity to move back, pulling my legs further to my chest. "First things first. I'm just going to ignore the fact that you recently agreed on another date, but I know you're doing it to save both our asses."

"In my defense, I _really_ don't want to go," I confess.

"I know. That's why I'm not mad at _you_." However, I do see a flash of green glowing in his eyes, meaning that he's insanely jealous. He has nothing to be jealous about; he's with me and nothing would change. "It's not very loyal of you, since you claimed that you will be a loyal boyfriend, but like I said, you're doing it so no one finds out about us. Now since that's out of the way, I came here to...to ask you out on our first date on Saturday. I'm not telling you where it is, so don't ask me."

"So you're surprising me?" I ask, with a 1000-watt grin.

He nods, confirming my suspicions. If blushing for me wasn't possible before, I think it's very possible now. At least he's trying to be romantic, even though he doesn't have to. I don't need to be wowed with explosions or super-speed, or other talents. I'm looking forward to that date, indefinitely. However, I have a date the day before, that I don't want to go to. Oh god. I have two dates...next thing you know, there's going to be a funeral.

—

Friday comes quicker than I know it.

"They're showing an old movie called To Catch A Thief," Chase informs us, and I know he's going to bore the hell out of us about movie information. "According to the IMDB website—"

"You know what, I think I want to be surprised when I watch the movie," Janelle gratefully interrupts, with a polite smile. I sigh in relief, because once his mouth starts, it keeps going. While I only invited everyone to distract me from this being a date, I don't want Chase to go into blind Einstein mode. "Look, there's the girl you like over there. You should go up to her."

Wait, Chase likes a girl, and he didn't tell me? I glance at him, and he's blushing intensely, hiding his face in embarrassment and shame. "You didn't tell me?"

"You haven't been talking to us since Thanksgiving, so I shouldn't have to explain myself," he retorts. "Her name's Skylar Knight. She's in our chemistry class. She sits in front of you every day."

I glance over at Skylar, Chase's apparent crush. Oh, yeah! Now I recognize her. Skylar was once my chemistry lab partner before Marcus 'transferred' here. We never really spoke outside chemistry class, but she always texted on her phone and popped her gum pretty loud. She always wore shirts two sizes bigger, and speaks overdramatically. She now sports short hair, which used to be long when I first saw her.

Despite the many rumors circling around her, Skylar was _never_ a bitch. She always greeted me, and always gave me a smile. It sucked when I found out I couldn't work with her anymore. I also remember Skylar, making out with the same girl every morning! Of course, no one else cared, because apparently the whole school knew that, but still. I open my mouth to say something, "Wait a minute, isn't she—"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, my brother, but Skylar Knight is a _lesbian_," Bree interrupts, with a smirk on her face. " Yeah, you heard that right."

"How do you know that?" He asks.

"It's pretty obvious, that's one," She explains triumphantly. "Two, her girlfriend is my physics lab partner; and three, Adam tried to ask her out, and she profusely declined."

"You have a crush on a girl who has the same haircut as you," I joke, to lighten the mood. Everyone laughs, but Chase flips me off. "Eh eh eh, _someone_ had to say it."

We're next, so we step up to the table. Immediately, Ethan steps over to the side, but Skylar immediately smiles at us. "Hey Leo and friends! Welcome to the first, and probably the _only_, Mission Creek High Film Festival. How many tickets?"

"Two," Janelle replies, before I get a chance to reply. I glance at her disapprovingly, but she doesn't seem to mind. I try not to roll my eyes as I give Skylar six dollars instead of eighteen, since I offered to pay for everyone. Yes, even Owen, as much as I don't want to.

"Thanks, enjoy the movie!" Skylar gives me two tickets, and I give Chase the rest of the money. Adam gives me a thumbs-up, while Chase looks skeptical and Skylar gives me a short wink before I walk inside the building.

"I know you invited your siblings, but can it just be the two of us for now?" she inquires, her eyes glittering with hope. "You'll see them later, but let's just enjoy our...little time alone." She grabs my hand, and walks (or drags, 'cause I don't want to be here) to the cafeteria that is now the makeshift theater. There's a lot of seats, as well as a projector that will be showing the movie. A couple of seats are taken, but the aisle seats in the back. It has a better showing of the movie for taller people (Adam, indefinitely) but I point over to the chairs in the front.

"Let's sit in the front. I'm too short for the back," I whisper. She smiles a little, and takes me to the front. Just as soon as we get there, the seats are taken by Trent and some blond chick I can't recognize. "Really?"

"Oops!" Trent taunts, with a short sneer. "Turns out I'm taking this available seat. Is that a problem?"

"You're just lucky that my brother Adam isn't here to—"

"It's no biggie," she says, and pulls me off to the side. "We can sit here near the projector. It's not blocking anyone else's way."

I glare at Trent's head for a few seconds, and I go over to the next available seats. "How about shutting up for once!" I hear Adam's voice behind me, and he's sitting right behind me with Chase. "Ugh, I had to deal with boring Chase for a few minutes, while he drones on and on about Allan Hitchcock or something—"

"It's Alfred Hitchcock," I correct him.

"Potato patato," Adam rolls his eyes, and grabs a handful of Chase's popcorn. "Got any Red Vines? I'm in the mood for licorice."

"I got Twizzlers," Chase replies.

"You had one job, Chase! Get. The Red. _Vines_!" Adam complains, with a scowl. "Hey guys, how do you say red wines in a German accent?" Everyone stays silent, because we already know this joke beforehand. It's even worse, since I hate the thing he's referring to. "Red Vines! What the hell can't they do!"

"Taste good," I state firmly.

"I'm gonna go get some Red Vines, since Chase got the ghetto Red Vines instead." With that, the older teen gets up, leaving me alone with a vexed Chase and a very annoyed Janelle. Everything's going great so far!

"What's the deal with Red Vines?"

—

The movie isn't great, but the constant whisper-bickering between Adam and Chase kept me entertained. Those two...they're closer than anyone gives them credit for, though. I get up from the seat, and sigh deeply. I'm really interested in going home and not staying here at school for longer periods of my time.

"Uh, we'll meet you outside," Adam pipes up, and pulls a stuttering Chase away from me. He looks back and gives me a wink, and they disappear from my peripheral vision. I roll my eyes, since I know this is his idea for me to have more time with Janelle. What they didn't know is that I actually _favored_ their company.

"I thought they would never leave," I hear Janelle sigh in relief. "Why is it that your family _always_ cockblocks us?"

"I have no idea," I answer. Even though it's an indirect question, it does get annoying. If that was me on a date with my boyfriend, I would hate it. "I think everyone's interested in my life. I am an adorable species, after all."

Normally anyone would roll their eyes at that, Even I find myself rolling my eyes at that (mentally). She just smiles and shakes her head, and I know she's just trying to be nice. "Besides their bickering, I have to admit it was kind of fun, watching a movie in school, being here with you."

"The movie could've been better, though," I admit, ignoring her last statement. "We should've went yesterday. I heard from someone in the theater club that they were showing A Streetcar Named Desire. Too bad we had to study for that test earlier today, so we couldn't go."

"I'm guessing you don't like thriller movies?"

"Nah," I dismiss. I really don't like all of them. However, there are a select few. We leave the emptying cafeteria and reach the hallway. There are only a few students around, probably waiting on others, because this is the only showing of the movie. "I'll pass on thrillers."

Throughout my short rambling, I notice that she holds my hand again. I stare at the intertwined hand, and I feel nothing but guilt. She probably doesn't notice my guilt-ridden look or she's being delusional, because as quickly as it happens, she kisses me on the cheek. I still feel nothing, which is probably expected. "I gotta go, my mom's picking me up."

"I'll see you later." She waves at me, and runs off. I'm in a short silence until I feel someone clap my shoulder.

"Wow! You finally got yourself a girlfriend!" Adam rejoices, and Chase only raises both of his eyebrows up in response. "Let's celebrate with frozen yogurt, on me!" He skips out of the building, and I follow suit until I feel Chase grab me by the elbow.

"Are you sure you're okay? You seemed tense throughout the whole date, and you seemed guilty after she kissed you."

I smirk, "Are you sure you're saying in spite of Skylar Knight being a lesbian?"

"Shut up!" he drops my elbow, and storms off in a huff. I know I dismissed the situation, but he's not wrong. Too many people are being observant on my slight discomfort. Maybe I need to tone it down a little, but I really need to let Janelle down gently. Not now, though - let her savor the moment that she went on a date with me.

Yeah, that's right. Savor the moment.

—

Second date, here we go.

I have to get ready as quickly and as stealthily as possible because everyone is home, and I don't want anyone knowing that I'm sneaking out the house. I have only thirty minutes before Macrus comes here, and I have visibly _nothing_ to wear. I don't want to under-dress, nor do I want to overdress. I don't even know where we're going. I decide not to wear my usual t-shirt, and opt in for the 'old outfit' I wore when I was hiding from my mom a while ago when she ran for PTA president. However, I style it up, since I don't want to appear too dressy. It's our first date, and I'm freaking out way more than I should. I don't know, how should I act on a first date?

Oh _god_, I'm mentally jittering.

Is that even possible? Even if it's not, I still feel like I'm jittering.

I'm slipping on shoes when I feel a strong rush of wind enter my room. I frown deeply after seeing a part of my outfit ruined, and Marcus stands in front of me, looking less casual than I am. "Can you keep it_ well under 55_?" I whisper-complain, remembering the time Bree super-speeded so fast that I tripped on my own feet. Even though he's faster, it's still possible to make me trip.

"I couldn't," he whines. "I was already feeling the pre-date jitters. When I get jitters, I tend to super-speed faster than I should. I also talk fast. I mean really, no one noticed until I was nervous around meeting Chase for the first time and he said I talk pretty fast when I'm nervous about something. I tried to tell him that I wasn't nervous and—I'm doing it at this moment, aren't I?"

"Yes, you _definitely_ are," I answer, and kiss him on the cheek for reassurance. "It's cute. You shouldn't feel nervous at all though. It's _just_ a date."

"And our first date at that. Just hold on." I do as I told, by climbing on his back. In a split second, we're outside my house, and I'm looking up at the open window in my room. I jump off his back, and dust myself off. I immediately hold his good hand, and I feel the sparks that I missed yesterday. "So tell me Leo, how was your _awesome_ date yesterday?" I know marcus is saying that in spite to cover his jealousy, but I can definitely sense it. Of course, if this is the other way around, I would be immensely jealous.

"It wasn't a date," I deny quickly. "We only went to a school film festival, where they were showing 1950's movies to fund the theater club for their play. It wasn't as special as how this one is going to be. I really felt tense and guilty through the whole...thing."

"You felt guilty, for dating another girl," Marcus tries to process the sentence, and I nod in response. "You shouldn't feel guilty. Even though I would normally be possessive in more ways than one, I know you're doing it so no one finds out about me. I'm not asking you to be her boyfriend, because if she does, I'll kill her before I even think about killing you, but at least keep it that way."

"I want to let her down gently, because it isn't fair to you, and to me either," I explain. "Besides that, I had a perfect distraction throughout the movie. Chase and Adam kept arguing over Red Vines and Skylar Knight. She's a lesbian, but Chase doesn't believe it. And apparently, Red Vines are better than Twizzlers, which is a lie. They were the only highlight of my date."

"Are you sure they're not dating?" He chuckles. I glare at him and squeeze his hand, but he doesn't seem to feel it, or care.

"So, all of my siblings are inter-dating to you?"

Marcus shrugs. "To be honest, we're kind of related…"

—

The walk is a short walk, but I realize where he's taking me. There's a small park festival with a free concert and an ice-skating rink. Way too romantic, but for a guy who says he isn't, he knows how to romance others. "You lied to me, Marcus. You are a total romantic."

"Is it too much?" he asks, and I can sense the impending jitter coming on. "I really didn't want to take you out on the clichéd dinner-and-movie date, and you already did that yesterday, so...I heard there was a winter event, and I decided why not. The concert is way too busy because they're playing some popular band, so I guess we can just enjoy ice skating for now."

"No, it's not too much at all," I say. 'This is...wow.'

"Since you ran out of adjectives, I'm just going to assume you like it," he concludes, and pulls me over to the recreational building.

"I should warn you before we get on the ice, I'm very accident-prone," I say, as soon as we're finished lacing our skates.

I've never been ice skating, so the thought of falling face down makes my anxiety go up. As soon as we reach the ice, I'm already slipping and I almost fall three times. This is in a matter of _thirty seconds_ on the ice. "Come on Leo, don't be such a baby," he eggs, waving over to me. I stand my ground on the edge of the ice, since falling isn't something I want. I don't want to break a body part (then get in trouble for sneaking out the house), or be embarrassed by random people in the crowd. People tend to be cocky and mocking when they see other people skating horribly.

"Seriously, Leo?" He frowns. "I did _not_ take you here on a date, just so you can stand on the sidelines and watch others fall on their asses." He grabs my hand, and pulls me away from the sidelines easily, but slowly. "Just focus on balancing, not about the fear of falling. If you fall, it's okay, but just focus on your balance." I don't even know that my eyes are closed, so when I open them, I'm already ten feet away from the entrance.

"Woah," I breathe out, and focus on my balance. "Just don't let me go yet."

"Don't worry, I'm still here," Marcus replies, and I keep skating. "You're getting the hang of it already." With that, he slightly speeds up, still holding onto my hand. I follow suit, and catch up to him easily. "See? Nothing to worry about."

"Easy for you to say," I pout. Marcus chuckles, and speeds up again. This time, I try to catch up, but I falter, ending up falling flat on my bottom. I groan, but it doesn't hurt so much. He looks back, and I see an amused flicker in his eyes before he grabs my other hand, pulling me up. "See?"

All I hear is a chuckle, which prompts me to elbow him on the side. "Hey! What was that for?"

"For laughing at my pain," I retort.

"It did not hurt! I faintly saw you about to laugh at your _own_ mistake," he boasts. "Your facial expressions are easy to detect. I _told_ you that already."

"Whatever! Just keep on skating and hope that I don't cause a domino effect on you." With that, we're skating at a speed that's faster than leisure speed, but at least some passengers don't pass by us. Even though this is faster, I find myself enjoying it. At least I'm not falling this time, or tripping. My anxiety has temporarily left the building. When we pass the entrance a second time, I feel him letting go of my hand. I almost start to panic, but he shouts at me, "Just keep going!"

I sigh, and keep skating, easily skating over curves and passing others who skate pretty slowly. When I reach the entrance for the third time, he grabs my hand and I stop abruptly. "Was that so hard?"

"Don't _baby_ me!" I scowl, but it doesn't falter his prideful grin. Of course, Marcus would be happy about teaching me how to conquer my small fear of falling on ice. I may never do this again, but at least I can say I did this before. Not a lot of people can. With that positive thought, I smile, and start skating again, also pulling him with me. Instead, he lets go momentarily to get behind me, and wrap his arms around my waist, nuzzling my neck for a few moments before allowing his chin on my shoulder. As a joke, I open my arms out, and I hear Marcus laughing behind me.

"So, we're reciting Titanic, then."

I snort, "Yup, that's _exactly_ what we're doing."

This is a better date than yesterday, since I'm here with someone special instead of a classmate, and it's going to be harder saying goodbye in less than four months. It's going to be hard, when I try to assimilate the rest of the year without hiding my relationship, sneaking out, and being myself around a fallen villain who I initially hated. Life sucks, but for now, I'll deal with the rest. Now, I'm living in a happy moment, and nothing can ruin it.

* * *

**AN: Sorry it's not as early as I claimed. I'm tired due to work, and I'm doing an overnight shift tonight, so I'm treading on time. However, all I ask of you is to review. Please? With a bionic cherry on top? (WHAT?) I only got like, two last chapter, so please, please, please review. I work hard on these chapters (apparently not hard enough—shut up!) and since I have a whole month to chill, I _still_ work hard on these. I also had a bit of writer's block because I didn't know what to do for a while, but that doesn't mean to not review. If you're busy, that's totally fine (because not everyone here are college students that decide not to take winter classes, and only work four hours a week) but yeah. I don't hold stories because of reviews, and probably never will, but dudes. Cough up some reviews. Read, review, repeat. (hey, that's new!)**

**My second OC is going to be around more often, because I actually like her, a lot. Shut up. I like all of my characters. They're like children to me. No, she's a little more important this time around. Faceclaim this time around is...Jennifer Lawrence. You know, my incredibly hot spirit animal? ;P**

**Oh, and everything pertaining to the new episodes after the christmas episode never happened. I loved Trent Gets Schooled and everything, but I can't fit it in the story at all. I hate Trent as a character (considering that he represents the sad example of super seniors in high school) so he won't make much appearances.**


	9. Underwater Mission

**Disclaimer: You pop that gum one more time—I mean, Lab Rats is owned by TEAR JERKERS.**

* * *

By the time i get home from the date, I'm still in a daze. Yeah, it was completely innocent for the most part, with ice-skating, but need I say more? Too bad I only had to come home at a certain time. Otherwise, I would still be at the park, enjoying the acoustic group and their exciting taste of music.

Yeah, it was _that_ fun.

I take off most of my clothes, and fall back on my bed, feeling the rush of my torso colliding with the mattress for a few moments. It's only five in the evening, and I have plenty of time to kill before dinner. My mom's probably making dinner right now, but weirdly, I don't hear any noise from downstairs. It's surprising how I can hear from downstairs, but no one can hear what goes on in each room. It's ironic; it's basically a one-way listening pattern. Then again, this is a mansion, and I know for a fact that Big D would ask for sound proof walls along with a home security system (that's snarky, sarcastic, and sociopathic).

"How would you know if he's good in volleyball?" A pubescent voice says distinctively, interrupting my thoughts. "Last time I checked, the only thing he's good at is breaking things."

Hey! That's _not_ true! "We have gym together, Chase. He's on my makeshift volleyball team."

"Wait, why are we playing volleyball? I still say we should play basketball!"

What are they talking about? "We can't play one on one on one! Plus, we need to find a sport to curb our boredom since Mr. Davenport grounded us after blowing up his super X facility. I don't understand why...he knows that we would have to, if necessary."

"Whatever, I just want to see how 'good' he is at volleyball like you say he is."

"He really—"

I hear a loud knock on my door. "Leo! We know you're in there!" I hear another knock, and an offhanded comment about the home security system being activated again. "Oh, let's do that!"

"NO!" I yell, opening the door slightly ajar. I harshly glare at my siblings, who don't really falter from my obvious distaste over using Eddy to open the door. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you three?"

"Bree says you're good at volleyball, and we're pretty bored," Chase explains, in the way he can explain the situation. "I don't believe it until I see it."

"Yeah! Tits or get the fuck out!" Everyone, including myself, stares at Adam with the same confusion and perplexion, evident in our facial expressions. "What? I'm just saying!"

"Uh, whatever. Just never suggest to barge in using Eddy the home security system again," I threaten, which I know goes out of the other ear for all three of them. "Oh, and don't think I didn't hear that comment about me breaking things, Chase. Are you still bitter about your crush being _unavailable_?"

"Ha ha, very funny," he frowns, and he turns around to storm out the hallway, with his siblings teasing him all over again. He will never live this down, just as long as he finds a girlfriend. Who knows, maybe he might find that special lady - but for now, he's our special butt monkey.

...yeah, definitely like old times.

—

"Let's show these losers how it's done," I announce, with the volleyball in my hand. We're in the unused indoor volleyball court (courtesy of Big D and his many, many rooms) and I'm on a team with Bree. I throw the ball in the air, and slap it hard, sending it flying across the room over to Chase's end. Quickly, he hits the ball (albeit awkwardly) and it lands over to my side. Realizing that it's going over my head, I run backwards with my fingertips above my head, and just as the ball reaches its target, I thrust my hands up.

The ball flies across the room again, and over the net. Quickly, Adam pushes his brother out of the way, and spikes the ball so hard that it bounces on the floor, and up to the ceiling. "Yes! Score one for Pinky and the Brain!" Adam cheers, and uses his heat vision to create a vertical line on the old piece of wood that's engraved with our team names. My team name is Breo, because...I don't even know. "Ready to give up now?"

"We were just warming up!" I taunt back. Adam narrows his eyes, and tosses the ball to Chase. I watch as he stares at the both of us, trying to lock in a target. I don't know who it is, but when he serves the ball, the ball flies over to Bree, who automatically bumps it against her forearms.

I watch as Chase tries to chase the ball that's flying towards the middle, but Adam is also running towards the ball. They bump against one another, and the ball hits Adam's head before hitting the floor. I chuckle, while they get up and cling onto their clashed forearms. "So, have your plans of taking over the world succeed yet?"

They glare at us, but Adam has no choice but to give us the point. "That's what you think, but it's not over yet!"

"It's about to be over for the both of you!"

Two hours into the game, my legs are sore and my head hurts from the many minor concussions from the volleyball hitting my head. I look at the makeshift scoreboard, which has a score of 78-46. We're definitely the 78, because well, I'm on a team with Bree, and we're better at volleyball than being a villain duo from a cartoon.

Yes, I'm referencing the names, but I'm saying that my short stature is not something to joke about. I'm pretty great at volleyball, and don't anyone forget it.

"Ready to quit, boys?" Bree taunts, with the ball in her hand. "I can whip your asses _all_ night if I have to."

"Yeah, your only downside is that I'm _not_ bionic!" I shout, frowning at the agile teenager. She glares at me, but it doesn't falter my annoyed expression. "In all seriousness, we're beating them already. Why should we extend it to all night?"

"It was an expression!" she shouts, with an eye-roll. I sigh, and realizing it's my turn to serve, I slam the ball as hard as I could, letting the ball soar into the air for a few seconds, surpassing the net.

Just as soon as Chase reaches over to hit it (which in retrospect, he probably wouldn't catch up to it), my mom enters the court. "Guys! You've been in here for over two hours! What have you been doing?" she asks, causing Chase to miss his chance, making my team get the point.

"Bionic volleyball," I reply with a smirk, while Adam makes the 79th line. "Well, three bionics and a normal guy who can actually play better than them." I puff out my chest in triumph, until the ball hits the side of my head. I falter a little, but I catch the ball before it hits the ground. "Who did that?"

Instead of getting a clear answer, everyone doubles over in laughter. "It's not that funny."

"Anyway, I should tell you that dinner will be in half an hour," mom informs us. "So finish your game, and you better wash up for dinner, mister." She gives me a stern look, and leaves the four of us at the indoor court. I sigh and bounce the ball once before serving it. Since the two idiots weren't paying attention, the ball hits the both of them on the head.

"We weren't ready!" They yell in unison.

"Oops, it slipped!" I shout, with a mischievous grin. "Now, are we gonna continue this game, or are you two tired of getting your asses whooped by a non-bionic human and a girl?"

"You kiss your mom with that mouth?" With that, I flip Chase off before serving the ball again.

—

The past few days, again, seem so slow, but today (on a particular Wednesday) the lab rats have a mission. It's in the bottom of the ocean, making it the first time they ever have to do an underwater mission, since most of their missions are on other parts of the world. Apparently there's an underwater bomb at the sight of the Gulf of Mexico, and they have to disarm the bomb before it sets off, causing an explosion that floods the neighboring states of southern United States. As everyone gears up in their mission suits, I give them the thumbs up before they embark on a jet, taking them to one of Big D's submarines on the gulf.

Luckily, I get to guide them on the mission since Big D lost his voice (don't ask - but it involves a reunion concert of The Doors) and can barely talk.

"Okay, you're reaching the gulf already," I announce, staring at the screen that shows me what they can see. "Your mission suits are built to also guide you through the water. It's your personal bathing suit."

"Ew, I don't want to swim in my mission suit!" Bree complains.

"Deal with it!" I growl, while I roll my eyes. "I'm pretty sure it would only be Chase going there, so keep your underwear intact. If, by any chance, all three of you have to, then your mission suits immediately warm you up as soon as you leave the water."

"Is there dolphins? Ooh, I wanna swim with the dolphins—"

"Can you _stop_ talking about dolphins?" Chase shouts. I pinch the bridge of my nose in clear annoyance, while I hear distinct coughing and chuckling behind me. "There are _no_ dolphins down there. We are _not_ here for dolphins. _Stop_ talking about dolphins, and _focus_ on the mission for once!"

"Whatever, mission leader," Adam replies sarcastically.

I watch as the helicopter lowers onto the grassy, Key West islands, where the submarine is located. "Alright, now, let 'em down gently... It's swampy, so you may step on something that may remind you of...uh, sludge. Just head over to the submarine. You should be at least ten feet away from it."

Of course, the warning does _not_ soothe anyone. "Oh my god, this is disgusting!"

"You're not stepping on it with your bare two feet!"

"_Focus_!" I shout. I whip my head to see my mom giving Big D a cup of steaming tea (or instant soup, I don't know) but when she looks at me, she raises an eyebrow. "Hey mom! Whatcha got there?"

"What are you doing?" she questions, glancing at me, and then her husband, who turns away from her and sips his tea.

"Well, the guys are on a mission and you know Big D lost his voice when he went to the Doors reunion concert," I explain, playing with the microphone near my mouth. "So I'm taking his place just for today. This will probably be the only time I would ever do this—"

"_Ooh_, I see dolphins! Chase, you lied to me!" I turn around, and there are only a few dolphins blocking their way towards the submarine. Since it's a self-driving submarine (seriously, when does this man have the time to sew? I mean, what?) the submarine can detect the underwater bomb's whereabouts and they can disarm it. "I wanna swim with the dolphins!"

"_Shut up,_" Chase demands. "We need to focus more on this mission."

"Can you give him a break? He basically _saved our drunken asses_ at the New Years' party," Bree sides with her older brother, which makes me grin. At least mom and Big D can't hear this conversation. "If this wasn't a mission, we would totally swim with the dolphins anyway. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, the bomb is right in front of us."

I can't see anything. At this point, both my mom and Big D are standing beside me; while Big D writes something on his notepad, my mom gives me a look of contentment. "Wow, I see dolphins! They're so cute!"

"Mom, _seriously_?" I groan. "Alright, Chase, you swim down there, while Adam lifts up the rock that's holding it in place. Since it's one of those 'cut the wire' ones, I assume you know which one to cut, right?"

"How about we just pull them all at once?"

That was the _stupidest_ question he's ever asked, but I have to answer him unfortunately. "Do _NOT_ pull all of them. That would further speed up the time it's set to explode instead of disarming it. Come on, you got this, flash glue. I know you can do this."

"Thanks for the wise words," Chase says sarcastically, and all I can see within the next few minutes is a slender figure swimming further down the bottom of the gulf, as well as a taller figure throwing the rock from the scene."Alright, I can see a bunch of wires. They're all the same color."

"Chase can see a bunch of wires that are the same," I repeat. He rolls his eyes, and freaks out a little, and I know he wishes he has his voice for a second. "Just cut the wire that isn't the same color!" I command, which gets a thumbs-up. "What do you see? White? Black? Blue?"

"They're all a green color-wait, I see another color."

"Great! Adam, make sure you see that the ticker flickers off, which means that the bomb is disarmed," I command. He salutes, and swims over to the site. A short pause, followed by a very wet cough, surrounds the lab. "Are you getting your voice back?"

"Ahem, no, not really," Big D croaks so softly that it's almost like he's mouthing the words instead of saying them. "But when I do...well, I have nothing to say so…"

"Good, because I was getting used to you not talking for a change," I chuckle, and turn around. "Progress report! What's going on?"

"I lost the wire!"

"Are you fu-are you _kidding_ me?" I yell angrily. "You had _one_ job! You need to tell me, that you lost a bright-colored wire in the midst of green wires?"

"Let me go at it!" With that, I see another figure swimming towards the scene in super speed, and reaching back with a triumphant smirk. "Done! let's go home! I'm already missing the new episode of Teen Fiancée."

* * *

**AN: Sorry there's no romance here, but I really think there should be some moments with the Lab Rats and Leo. Plus, I wanted to write a chapter with the Lab Rats doing a mission, preferably underwater. **

**Okay, game time! If you can name all the references in this chapter correctly, I'll give you a shout out or a sneak peek for the next chapter. So, review and play wisely! **

**Guys, what do you think of the finale? Evil Uncle Daddy is back! And that preview! Gahhhhh. I'm so done with Lab Rats. So done. I was so emotional that I couldn't pay attention to The Fosters winter premiere. Yeah, it was that good. I think Marcus is back too. Hmmm, another showdown, perhaps? And since Perry knows the guys' secret, she may actually become an ally. A lot of people think she's bad, but to be honest, she isn't all that bad. If anything, she's a whole lot better than Trent. She may try to save the Lab Rats' life or something, since they saved hers.**

**And that hologram message to Mr. Davenport was so touching. I thought that one of them would call him 'daddy' or something. So much feels. I don't think my heart would have take it, so I'm glad that didn't happen.**


	10. The Truth

**Disclaimer: Lab Rats is owned by me. Yeah, that's right. I _finally_ got it! (loljk)**

* * *

I don't understand the logic of getting a frozen yogurt in the middle of January, but today we have no school, and the frozen yogurt introduces a new flavor that a lot of people can appreciate. Of course, when the lab rats go anywhere, I must tag along (well, according to Mom because she feels like I've been holed up in my room since November) to keep them safe. While I forgave him for almost killing me, (ignoring the fact that he's my boyfriend altogether) I still have to take precautions.

I mean, seriously. They haven't made any new friends since the Alistair incident. I don't know if it's because of shame, or the showdown, but it's kind of annoying.

"It's _forty_ degrees for fuck's sake!" I complain, while I impatiently stand on line. "Why must I stand on line to get frozen yogurt?"

"It's _never_ too cold for frozen yogurt," Adam answers my question. "Plus, they just revealed the new cinnamon flavor. I want to try it so bad."

"Then get a spoonful of the substance and eat it like that, again," I joke. Last year, Chase dared Adam to do the cinnamon challenge after finding it online. Everyone who ever did the cinnamon challenge immediately spits it out, because cinnamon is known to absorb saliva like a puddle on a 90-degree day, and can cause asphyxiation easily. Let's just say, I had to clean up a lot of cinnamon. There's still some grains by the kitchen island and by the elevator.

"Oh god, not that again!" he frowns. "You know that trying to swallow it made me choke and throw up."

"That's what she said," I say, with a particularly suggestive grin. However, the elder did not get my joke. I sigh, after realizing my joke fell flat - horribly flat. Why bother? "Whatever."

"You seem tense," he hints, blinking at me twice before continuing. "Is everything alright in that brain of yours? Are you having relationship problems already?"

"No," I lie. No, nothing's going right in my brain. I almost cried last night, for a reason that I really don't feel like sharing, and I'm trying to decipher why is there a line for cinnamon frozen yogurt. As for relationship problems, I can't figure out a way to let Janelle down gently. It fucking sucks. I don't want to break anyone's heart (especially since I was '_pining'_ for her attention for a while before she started noticing), but I know I have to break her heart, even if I can be as gentle as possible. "Everything's fine."

"Great, because I feared for the worst." The line starts moving, and I realize that we're almost next. I sigh deeply, because I know I can't tell anyone the truth. It's so bad how I have to live a semi-double life, and I can't seem to break it, simply because I'm too nice. Why am I so nice?

After getting our (actually, their) ice cream, we meet the rest of the gang at the table. I know Chase is heavily annoyed, because he's watching his sister make out with her boyfriend. Yup, that's annoying. "Hey, lovebirds, here's your frozen dairy treat."

They pull away just in time, while I take my seat. "Thanks."

"Yeah, whatever," I grumble, folding my arms to my chest. I'm going to be so bored, even though I'm not a third wheel. "Just don't act all...sickeningly sweet in front of me. I don't want to barf in the middle of a shop." ...or cry, but that's debatable.

"So, I want to tell you guys before it _actually_ happens…" I drown Owen out immediately, and stare at my phone. I take a deep breath, feeling the familiar lump in my throat. I just can't. Is this normal to feel this way, especially since I just entered a relationship with someone? If it isn't normal, then I should probably get checked or something. I didn't feel this way when Janelle finally started noticing me as something more than a classmate from school. However recently, ever since we picked out Christmas trees…

I pick my head up, and he's still going. Maybe I should listen this time. "...It's going to be really funny, and I want all of you to come and support me."

Yup, I'm lost. "Uh, wait, what were you talking about?"

Bree narrows her eyes. "Seriously, you weren't listening to a word he _just_ said?"

I blink, "To be honest, I kind of spaced out. It's probably not important, and whatever it is, I'm sure mom will drag me out of the house to show up, so there's no need to get angry."

"He's in the new play at school, and he was asking if we would support us by going," she repeats, in a shorter version of whatever he said for the past few minutes. "But it seems like you don't even care to listen."

He's _not even my friend_. I really want to say that, but that would make everyone hate me (or something). I mean, I don't like him at all. He's pretty untalented, and suspicious, and I haven't warmed up to him at all. Even if he takes me to the side and asks me to get along with him, it's not going to happen. "Oh god. I'm already going; what else do you want me to do? He's your boyfriend, Bree. Nothing else."

Yeah, that really sounded harsh, but it's not important for me to care, or pretend to. As soon as anyone tries to say anything back, I feel a light tap on my shoulder.

"Oh look, it's Chase's girlfriend!" I hear Adam laugh, and I turn around to see the short-haired, blond Skylar grinning at us.

"Shut the _hell_ up," Chase growls dangerously, to the point where if he had heat vision again, Adam will be his target. Adam ignores him, of course.

Skylar raises an eyebrow, and smirks flatteringly. "Thanks, but no thanks. Steph is my girlfriend, and I'm going to keep it that way. You're cute Chase, but not that cute."

"Ooh, you just got rejected!" Adam laughs.

"You were in the same predicament not too long ago, lead-head," Skylar spits, causing the older sibling to shut up immediately. "Anyway, if Owen didn't tell you, our play, The Perks of High School, starts next week Friday and continues on for another week, so you guys can come any day and watch us execute the awesomeness over and over again. It has the plot of High School Musical, but it has the twist of Mean Girls, and one of my personal favorites, RENT! The whole theater club wrote it as a means of getting our creative juices onto the stage during improv, and now it's in production. Oh, and names are changed just because I hated those stupid generic names of HSM—"

Owen interrupts, "We kept one—"

Skylar obviously ignores him, "—Ryan is the one we kept, since it's a gender-bender name. So, are you guys coming?"

"Of course I'm coming!" Bree answers, holding onto Owen's arm. "I won't miss it for the world."

"Yeah, I'm coming," Adam mumbles, followed by Chase.

"I have no choice!" I inform, with a deep grimace. Seriously, I need to be on their asses most of the time. Except on dates. "But, I guess it's a performance no one can miss, right?"

"Exactly!" Skylar exclaims, clapping her hands together. "Now I have to persuade my parents. They're always so busy that they can never make it to any of the school events that Perry actually allows the school to have. Does anyone notice she's backing off a bit?"

"Oh, it's her New Years Resolution to act 'nicer' to the kids or she will lose her job," I inform everyone at the table. I know, simply because I _accidentally_ overheard the conversation last year before school went out for the holidays. "The superintendent finally got involved with our school district, so to speak. By the end of the school year, we have to report her behavior. I think she'll go back to that raging woman in a pantsuit sooner or later, but make sure she doesn't lose her job. She's...not entirely bad."

"I agree! I can't forget the time she beat Chase at the talent show!" Adam laughs, while Chase glares at him. "It was really funny to see Perry body slam Chase as a finisher."

"Or that time she dressed up as a prepubescent boy when I was interim principal," Bree chimes in. "It _was_ pretty humorous, albeit scary."

"And she did hold an art exhibit at the school, and she _hates_ art," Owen adds in, even though I don't really care. The game console mask still befuddles me to this day. "Oh, and she loved my popcorn sculpture, even though I was trying to make a point. However, Chase the Almighty ruined it."

"Food for thought, she funded a lot into the secret GLBT club two months ago, and the musical would probably be cancelled before we announced it if she didn't allow the Film Festival to happen," Skylar tells us. "I agree that she is a tyrannical, snarky, sociopathic cat lady, but she has her moments. Plus, the school would feel so damn boring without Perry hounding her backs almost every day. It's already boring. I think she's a secret lesbian."

"With those power suits and cats, that's _probably_ not far from the truth," I hypothesize. To be honest, it's been a thought since I started _attending_ high school. However, my suspicions come to a halt back when she was hitting on Joey Logano. That was creepy beyond repair. "Speaking of, she came over to my house during Christmas. She has a jingle bell onesie."

"Luckily we weren't there to _visualize_ the scene," Chase shudders.

"I'm still scarred shitless from the time she recited Frosty the Snowman." With that, I hear a collective laugh. I don't join in, but it seems great to see everyone laughing (despite my dislike for Owen). "It's not funny. I still have nightmares."

—

So, last weekend before today, I agree on another date with Janelle because it seemed important. When she asked me, she was pretty hesitant, and said it was okay if I didn't want to go. I caved and agreed, so today, I'm going on my second date, and no distractions will be around us. My mom, who found out by Bree, was more than excited. Actually, everyone was more excited about my date than I am, and I'm not excited at all. Actually, I'm _really_ anxious.

As we walk over to the place, she seems more distant and doesn't want to hold a conversation. I don't ask what's wrong, but eventually I know that the silence will kill me. Despite my distaste of going on a date with someone I don't like as much as I used to, I still try to be as chivalrous and kind on the date, by pulling the chair out before she sits down, opening the door for her, and allowing her to pick out what she wants.

"So, how did you do on that chemistry quiz? We got the results yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to talk to you after class," I start, after hanging the waiter our menus. "I failed, as usual. Organic chemistry isn't my strong suit."

"I got seven out of the ten questions right," Janelle replies, nonchalantly. "It's my lowest grade, but I heard almost everyone failed anyway."

"Not exactly; Chase was the only genius to get all of them right," I tell her. She raises an eyebrow. "But he doesn't count, so everyone failed." She just shrugs, and my nervous laugh subsides each scone into complete nothingness. Okay, seriously, something's wrong. She isn't even attempting to smile at my subtle joke, or look at me straight in the face. "Janelle, what's going on with you? You've been strange all day, and you barely want to keep up a conversation. Is there something wrong?"

Janelle hesitates, but we immediately get our food. I'm not even hungry, so I ignore the waiter's small talk. Janelle stares at her plate, and I stare at her, still waiting for an answer. "I'm not trying to be _harsh_ or anything, but I'm waiting for an answer."

"Do you like me?" She shoots her head up, and blurts out.

"Well, yes I do—"

"No Leo, I mean, do you _really_ like me?" She emphasizes further.

Now it's my turn to look over to the side, because I know what I want to say is not going to make this any better. Of course, with the sudden silence and my eyes casting away, she can already tell that the feeling is not mutual. "Great. When were you going to tell me the truth?"

"I didn't want to hurt your feelings," I reply shamefully. "I - I don't even know. It's all of a sudden, when it's now you notice me after breaking up with your boyfriend. I thought you only saw me as a friend, so I stopped trying to get your attention. I was going to tell you right after the first date, but that wouldn't be a great idea, so I kept waiting. That was an even worse mistake, though."

"Yeah, it was," she rolls her eyes, but if can see that she's really hurt. "So, I guessed I wasted your time, right?"

"No, no you didn't! I think we can spend time together...as friends," I persuade, with a hopeful grin. I don't want to lose a friendship with someone simply because we don't see eye-to-eye. "It won't be so bad. It will just be like old times, without my praising, or flirting. Actually, how about we go to the play that...Bree's boyfriend is in. I heard it's good, from the actors themselves."

Janelle breaks out into a grin. "Sure! I guess we can do that."

"Good, because even though I don't have a crush on you anymore, I don't want to lose you as a friend," I assure her. "You're a really cool girl to be around, and that's saying something because I _rarely_ have friends."

"Sure, I just have one question."

"Ask away," I wave her off, and allow her to ask whatever she wants.

She takes a deep breath, "Is there someone else in the picture? I just...you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, and I won't ask any further questions."

Well, at least she doesn't know about who I'm with in the first place. "Yeah, there _is_ someone else." I answer, with a deep blush. I managed not to think about it until now, but I don't want to lie. "It's funny, when I mentioned that I was going on a date with you, everyone was excited, except for me. My mom even said she might see a wedding in our future. It would suck if they found out that we aren't dating."

"But they have to know the truth," she insists. "They deserve to. They'll be okay with it. Plus, you're in another relationship, that no one knows about but me."

"It's hugely complicated," I sigh. It really is complicated, to the point where I shouldn't tell anyone at all. However, Janelle is far from a stupid girl, so she can figure things out herself without confirmation. "You're the only person who knows, actually."

"Oh, well then, we can leave it at that and just tell your family that we aren't dating," she grins. "Now, I really want your fries so..."

I laugh, and push my plate over to her. I'm not even hungry to be honest, but it's pretty fun to see that she isn't mad at me for this. That's the kind of friend I really want; someone who understands. She's one of them, and it will be a great friendship at that. Maybe I'll trust her enough to tell her almost everything, but for now, I need to keep it in the dark. No one even knows that I have a boyfriend, and it would probably crush some hearts to find out that I'm in a same-sex relationship, when I always identified myself as straight. I've never had an issue with sexuality, even if I have deep feelings for another guy, but it seems like things are changing, and it's probably better than I expected.

* * *

**AN: Don't kill me! I am dearly, dearly sorry. I swear. Shit happened. My plot bunny went into a coma. I had to revive it back to life. She's not the same, because this story is getting way too lighthearted for my taste. That's my story, and I am sticking to it. Also, school is coming up, and I had a bit of financial discussions with my mom, which stressed me out a little. She makes too much! :( and then tax season...**

**So, my plot bunny keeps smacking me in the face to write another Meo story, or a sequel, but I am so indecisive on what to really do, because most of my ideas die after a while. The first one is omegaverse. It's hella confusing, So i am not explaining that. The sequel, is a two or three years in the future type of thing where Leo is eighteen and he goes away for college, while Big D and the Lab Rats find out everything about the relationship. **

**So, no romance here. Sorry. Please review! getting a fingerful of reviews last chapter really burned my beezy (in English, upsets me), and got me thinking if you hate the non-romantic plots. I am seriously giving you all a heads-up, I know for a fact, that some chapters will get angsty and sad and maybe tear-jerking, so don't hate me because I can't always center around the main relationship. I love Meo, but I think I like the Dooley-Davenport family dynamic a lot better, and no one is overly enthralled in a relationship. (A healthy one, at least.)**

**Plus, it has come to my knowledge that some people are perplexed about the rating change. I know. It is so confusing, even to me. I don't know. Most of the chapters I am writing now are high T's, but that's an M in this site. No one really knows the rating system on this site, not even the creators (to me, anyway) so it's a high T. If it bothers you, we will discuss it in any way you want me to.**


	11. Crisis

**Disclaimer: Principal Perry owns the Dooley-Davenport family secret, but I don't own Lab Rats. If anyone deserves to know their secret, it's her. (Even Owen doesn't deserve to know shit about Bree.)**

* * *

The musical is more hilarious than expected. I already watched it with the lab rats and Janelle on the first day of the showing, and we were laughing throughout the _entire_ musical. Everyone involved in the play are really great actors, but I'm more fascinated with the role Skylar played. It wasn't a surprise that she played a gay character, but what really surprised me is that it was a character in a relationship with one of the most popular girls in the fictional school. The relationship really resembles my current relationship with Marcus. Despite the shits and giggles tonight, that was a _very_ serious role to play.

However, that doesn't really help my situation. Ever since the second date with Janelle last week, I can't exactly control my thoughts or actions. I only had a few minutes to see Marcus the day before yesterday, and all I did was asked him to accompany me to a second showing of the musical (all in all, our second date). Marcus agrees, simply because I beg, and I told him that he would enjoy it. He has said that he was once involved in the theater club before the showdown.

My crisis? It's complicated. It's like, I'm more emotionally drawn to him each time we see each other. Yesterday, I kissed him so hard that one of us started bleeding. Yeah, that's right. Then, I couldn't keep my hands off him when we tried to talk about other things, for example, I tried telling Marcus about my 'falling out' with Janelle, only for it to turn into a heated make out session mid-sentence. Don't get me wrong, this isn't all of a sudden. The butterflies start in December after the mistletoe kiss. However the neediness and slight separation anxiety started back at the party, which is why I almost cried. I'm basically freaking out, and I haven't even put on some clothes for the second date yet. It sucks even more because I don't know _who_ to talk to about it.

I sigh deeply as I feel a sudden rush behind me. I whip my torso around to see Marcus standing by my window, with a slack-jaw expression. It's now that I realize that I'm only in my underwear, _still_ deciding what to wear for tonight. "God damn."

"_Indeed_," Marcus leers. I turn around to glare at him completely, and cross my arms across my bare chest. "What? I can't look?"

"No, and it's not because of modesty," I retort, and throw on an undershirt. "I can't believe you're already ready. I'm still deciding what would look good."

"Leo, this is just a second date to my old school, not to an expensive restaurant where you have to wear a _suit_," Marcus assures, and I feel his arms around my sides. "Wear _anything_ you want, and I'll be happy. As a matter of fact, let's skip this shebang, and you can wear _nothing_ at all."

"Perv," I mutter, and pry his hands off me, leaving a warm sensation that immediately grows cold. "I need to get dressed. I _really_ want you to see this play. It's excellent."

"Yeah, you told me already, five times," he chuckles, when I throw another shirt on, following a pair of jeans. I don't even know why I'm comfortable getting dressed in front of Marcus already, but I am. "Should I bring a box of tissues for my tears of laughter?"

"Yes, and then some," I reply. "Sometimes I wish you were back at school, and we had this...thing going without all the evil shit behind it."

"You don't like sneaking around anymore, do you?"

It has come to that point; because one, Skylar's role inspired me to embrace some part of my confused sexuality, and two, well, I think the first reason sums it all up. "I don't know, it used to be a thrill. Now, not so much. But, I figured it's best for the both of us."

The android frowns, and puts his hands on my shoulders. "You are freaking out way too much, okay? Just breathe, and put your shoes on. We're going to be late for this play."

"Yeah, and keep your hood up," I say. Grabbing my shoes, I immediately put them on, and jump on his back so we can easily get out of the house. As soon as I do though, we reach outside, and I jump off his back. That was fast, I muse to myself.

"Duh, of course I'm fast."

—

As soon as we reach the front of the school, it's less busy than the first time I was here, but at least the people around me don't notice the person standing next to me, which is good. After getting the tickets, we sit in the back, where everyone else sits in the front. Again, it was Marcus' idea to make it less suspicious for the both of us. It doesn't start for a few extra minutes, though, so we sit there, trying to hide from other people. I immediately see Principal Perry scanning the aisles for suspicious behavior, and some of the stars (that I know of) aren't exactly backstage yet. They're conversing with other students, or with their parents who came early.

"Is this going to be boring?" Marcus leans over and whispers.

"No, it's supposed to be a comedy," I whisper back. "If you fall asleep, that's on you, but it's really good."

"Good, because I don't want to fall asleep and you end up getting mad at me," he says, and relaxes more on the auditorium chair. "Plus, I know some of these kids…I know for a fact that Owen is going to try to steal the spotlight. It's his thing."

"Is he always a jerk?" I ask, in partial curiosity.

"Compared to others, including myself, not really," he answers, with a short grimace. "I thought he was trying too hard when he tried to get girls - trying to be introspective yet flirty; it was pretty stupid to watch, but apparently he pursued Bree. What a shocker."

"She's easily led, my friend," I agree. "She fell for your trap, remember?"

"So did you, genius," he sneers, yet I can see the amused flicker before he grins again. "But _you_ like it."

"No, I hate it," I say sarcastically, and I turn around to watch the curtains open. The play's starting. Immediately, I feel Marcus' right arm relax around my shoulders, and instinctively, I lean closer to the side of his chest. I can still see the play before my very own eyes, but his warmth, and a faint smell of deodorant intoxicates me. It's so overpowering that it sends a shortwave of pleasure through me, to the waist down.

Yeah, _that's_ embarrassing.

My eyes widen in shock, even though I know it's not clearly visible. I already feel the mental freak out happening, just because I'm getting really…ahem, _aroused_ by a firm chest and a sweet-smelling mist of deodorant. Is this normal? I mean, I haven't had _those_ accidents since the eighth grade, but even back then, I was clearly less informed about this. Now that I'm in the middle of puberty, and that time is clearly done and over with—oh.

Oh god.

It's five minutes into the play, and I'm focusing on anything but. My mind is going crazy again, and the only thing that would prevent me from going into another mental crisis is if I move away. Yeah, let's do that.

I sit up immediately, and while that doesn't help it go away, at least I can watch this awesome play again. I watch as the overly confident Owen belts out song lyrics with his co-star, who sings way better than him in comparison, but at least he's trying. The first time I watched it, I couldn't stop giggling. But now, I have more willpower to hold back and not think of this part as a comedy. I can't say the same for Marcus obviously, because he's chuckling behind his bandaged hand. "Oh god, he's so _horrible_!"

"_Stop_ laughing! This _isn't_ the funny part!" I whisper-yell in frustration, even though I was in the same predicament not too long ago. "Come on, Marcus, people will start staring at us!"

"I can't stop!" Marcus whispers back between chuckles. "He needs to stop singing!"

"Too bad, because he's the male _lead_," I say back. "You're going to hear his voice all night for two hours."

"Lovely." By the time he's finished, he gets a short standing ovation, and the next part immediately, is the part where the new girl meets the popular girls, one including Skylar and her eventual girlfriend. In the movie, this wasn't as comedic, but they changed it to have so much popular clichés that we have no choice but to laugh. Skylar plays a twin sister to the most ambitious popular girl of the school, played by Caitlin. It's funny because she's supposed to be a blond, but Skylar told me that there wasn't a better singer for that role.

I have to admit, Caitlin isn't bad as a musical actress, but she's _way_ too possessive and clumsy as a person.

The new girl, instead of being from Albuquerque, is from Canada, and Caitlin makes a lot of Canadian stereotypical jokes, like a maple syrup reserve, hockey, milk in a plastic bag, Degrassi, and the 'Eh?' tic that a lot of people associate Canadians with. It's _so_ offensive, yet so hilarious, but it's funnier when they break out in song. My side starts to hurt from laughing, and I see a lot of people doubling over. Skylar also told me that they had a really big problem rehearsing this scene, because it was too funny. I can see why.

"If you're from Canada, then why don't you like Degrassi?" Skylar asks, after the song ends.

Caitlin glares at her supposed twin sister, crossing her arms. "Oh my god, Ryan, you can't just ask people why they don't like Degrassi if they're _Canadian_! Sometimes I wonder if we're actually sisters."

"I've been thinking the same way for over _ten_ _years_!" Skylar retorts back, and I'm already feeling like falling out of my seat. My earlier crisis is merely forgotten, thanks to this scene.

—

"What's your _real_ passion, Lauren? What do you want to do?"

"I like science—"

"So do science!" This is the part where Caitlin (or Raiza,) tries to sabotage the new girl's budding relationship with Owen (or Chad), but I know she'll get it all. I watched it already. "Science is needed for tomorrow's scientists. You can do great things with that. Singing? The best you'll ever be is a backup singer with that voice."

"What makes you think so, Raiza?" The girl challenges.

"Because, if you haven't noticed, I'm the talented one, and I will be the starring role for the school's musical!" She argues, and a thrilling sound plays in the background. "I've did my waiting! _Two years _of it! I wanted a musical ever since I enrolled to this school, and I will see to it that I will be the starring role, alongside Chad in the West Side Story!"

The other girl shrinks back, making Caitlin's grin grows wider. Yeah, she was perfect for this role. "B-but, I wanted that role! My friends don't think I should be doing this."

"Maybe it's for a good reason," Caitlin says wickedly. This is also the part where she finds out about her twin sister and her best friend, so they're walking towards the makeshift dressing room. "Look, Lauren, sweetie, I'm not trying to hurt you! You're a pretty and talented girl, but you need to do what you're best at. Science club is your thing, not singing. Speaking of, have you seen my sister Ryan? We're supposed to—"

She opens the door, to see her sister making out with another girl, and collective gasps surround the auditorium. "Oh yeah, shit's going down," I mutter in excitement. This may be my second time watching this, but it's one of the turning points for Skylar and Caitlin's characters, as their relationship dynamic starts to change. It's how I imagined the situation to go if any of the lab rats find out about my relationship with Marcus. They would be more angry about my relationship with the 'enemy' than my sexuality, that I'm _still_ confused about.

"What the heck is going on here?" Caitlin shrieks, causing Marcus to jump in his seat. The shrill yelling is loud enough for him to twitch, since he has super senses, but for anyone to twitch since Caitlin is pretty loud with those microphones hooked onto the actors. "You can't be serious."

"Raiza, it's _not_ what it looks like—"

"Oh, it's _exactly_ what it looks like!" An angry melody starts playing, and this is the song that severs the twins apart until the end of the movie. I wasn't sure what Caitlin was mad about at first, but it seemed like she was mostly mad at her sister's sexuality, and her _choice_ in girls. I don't get it, since I thought they're twins and she will be the one person that understood her sister's dilemma.

It gets to me in a personal level, and watching it for the second time _really_ gets to me. The first time, I had to cast my head to the side because Skylar's acting was _way_ too phenomenal with her facial expressions, but now I don't exactly move, and I don't want to get up from my seat, so I keep watching. It's a bad move, because I already feel stinging tears already falling. I _never_ get emotional over things like this, but it seems so real that I can't resist. I can't see straight, and the lump in my throat halts my breathing. I have to cover my mouth to keep from sobbing out loud, but before I can let one out, I already feel a pair of arms embracing me, and a firm chest on the side of my face.

Shamefully, I allow myself to sob on Marcus' chest, while Marcus rubs my back. I think this is more embarrassing than an hour ago - crying onto someone's chest. Why? Because people like me don't show emotions like this. I _don't_ cry in front of people. I didn't cry (well, with people around) at my father's funeral, nor did I cry when Big D _almost_ took Chase, Bree, and Adam away. No, I couldn't. I needed to be strong. I _almost_ lost them, twice, and I _never_ let myself get this vulnerable. But now?

As soon as the scene ends, my sobs subside into soft hiccups, but I still feel Marcus' hands wrapped around me, my head on his chest, and I see a couple of people dabbing their faces with tissues. Maybe I'm not the only one who cried. However, I feel like the only person to actually think this might happen to me.

The next scenes are dramatic, but the last scene is hilarious. Instead of a big singing music number, it reminded me of those rap battles on YouTube, even better. It was pretty funny, since it's supposed to end the musical on a good note that the girl and the guy get each other, and the twins reconcile, but it's in rap form. Everyone laughs, and does a standing ovation during the curtain call.

* * *

**AN: This chapter was supposed to be longer. Then I realized I had half of a chapter for the next chapter, so I cut it off. It seems like an unfair cutoff prevention, but hey, you guys get chapters every four days. ****Thank you all for your reviews! I'm up to 52, and I think I can get up to 100 when this story ends...hm, let's hope for the best. Maybe if five members review for each chapter and when we get to 20 chapters (heads up, this _might_ get up to 30 chapters) it might happen. I'm confident. The most reviews I got for a story is 78, and I think it should be a resolution for the year to get 100 for at least one story. We can do it.**

**Anyway, tell me what you think. I kind of half-assed the 'play' because I don't want to write a play that actually exists. Like, I was considering a play that I starred in during my senior year, but I lost the book and I've already broken many fanfiction rules (that I personally have a problem with) so yeah, sorry. I think it's bad. Plus, that would be another story for me to write, lol.**

**P.S. I fucking hate High School Musical. Why? I don't know, it was cliché. High school was not a fun place, and if you were the new kid, you got your ass picked on. Gabriella had it _way too_ _easy_. Then again, it was Disney, who tells you that new kids are shy yet aspiring singers. (But I loved all of the actors. Vanessa and Ashley were my crushes. And Zefron is royalty.)**

**P.P.S. I'm so crying. Good Luck Charlie recently aired an episode with two moms. Oh my god. And I recently had this conversation with AngelGoneDevil69. Angel, our hope and dream is coming true! *creys***

**P.P.S. I have a twitter. You can follow me for story updates, random tweets about my bittersweet life, and you may even see what I actually look like! (I'm a train wreck, so _don't look forward to that._) I'm rainb0wloaf_ (that's a zero, and an underscore.)**


	12. Eddy (and Bree!) Knows All

**Disclaimer: Sorry. Spencer, Billy, and Kelli escaped from my magical closet, so I don't own Lab Rats. (crap. it doesn't help that I am _older_ than Billy _and_ Kelli. I'm going to jail. Hahaha.)**

* * *

We leave right after the last curtain call, since it's really quiet between us, and I think I need to get home. The play was after dinner and other stuff, but I know for a fact that two hours without hearing from me would have anyone worry. Before I know it, I'm rushed home, and I'm already inside my room.

"Really?" I ask, throwing my hands in the air.

"Sorry, I figured you needed to be home at a certain time?" Marcus answers, scratching the back of his neck. "It's already late, and you seemed out of it after you cried all over my shirt."

"I'm fine, I swear," I say, and hold his hands. "Really, I am. I just allowed my locked-up emotions to get in the way. I never really knew how much that scene spoke to me."

"Yeah, it _was_ really touching," he agrees. "Despite that, I really enjoyed the play, Thanks for even suggesting that we go, since we haven't spent much time together."

We haven't spent much time together, and he's right. I just don't know what to do most of the time. I've completely forgotten about the list, but I know that we've done most of them already. We have yet to do something else that may be more fun, but the weather would warm up by late February. "I know, and that's not what two people in a relationship do. We always communicate. And you're probably getting sicker by the minute, so we should spend a lot of time together. Of course, not every minute, second and hour, because there will be certain times when I'm too busy. Time does tend to be unpredictable."

"And I understand that, that's why I kind of backed off a little." The bionic android applies himself on my bed, while I follow suit, but instead of the bed, I sit comfortably on his lap. He casts his eyes away from me, but I grab his chin and force him to look at me again.

"Thank you," I say, with a small, yet evident grin. "But I missed you, and, it was pretty boring without you."

Marcus doesn't reply, instead I see a blush creeping up on his face. I chuckle lowly, and kiss both of his cheeks. His face gets even redder, but that doesn't stop me. with confidence on my back, I push Marcus harshly, his back colliding with my bed, and I swoop down to kiss him slowly. Marcus kisses back, and it turns passionate, and hungry when I growl under my breath. He flips me over so I'm on my back, and he situates his legs between mine. I bite his lip, and he gasps, allowing me entrance. He one-ups me (every time) and enters my mouth, and the sudden movement makes me groan pretty loudly.

Unknowingly, my hips buck upward, causing the both of us to moan at the same time. I pull away, and cuss under my breath, while he moves towards my neck. My moans and cusses grow relatively louder. I clench the sheets as hard as I can, feeling his lips and teeth on a particularly sensitive spot on my neck.

"Oh, fuck," I gasp sharply, with absolutely _no_ shame. I know these walls are particularly sound-proof, and I know no one is really worrying about me, but I'm not allowing myself to get any louder than this.

I unclench the sheets long enough to move my hands over to his lower back, playing with the hem of his shirt. Grabbing both of my hands, Marcus pins them over my head, and pulls away just in time to look at me. His face is slightly flushed, and a sheen of sweat covers his face. I feel his breath on my chin, weirdly feeling like a hot breeze in a hotter room. He bites his lip, and he captures my neck again, on the other side.

I arch my back, and I let out a shout in a higher octave that's even possible for my vocal cords. I feel him chuckling when he captures my neck again, feeling weirdly erotic vibrations against my neck. Pulling away, he exhales, and kisses me again, feeling his swollen lips against mine. They're so sensitive that I can't control my small, closed mouth whimpers. I feel his grin against my lips, probably from all the noises that he thinks he can make me do (which is probably true) but I'll give him the opportunity to have some pride.

Pulling away again, we stare at each other's eyes, and as soon as I'm about to say something—

"I'm baaaaack!"

Oh _no_.

My eyes widen, and both of our heads shoot up to see the smart home computer system Eddy staring back at us. I can't tell if he's shocked or weirded out that I'm lying beneath a guy, or amused that this looks incredibly compromising…whatever. I just know that things will not go well.

"Looks like I'm interrupting something..." he says, skirting (or ignoring) the sight of me under someone who betrayed the family. "Wait a minute, you—"

I push him off me and trudge over to the sarcastic computer system. "Yes, he's back. _Please_ don't tell Big D about this! It's...complicated, and I would wish that you would keep your mouth shut about it."

"Like I would ever tell _him_ about your..._covert affairs,_" Eddy replies sarcastically. "I've been awake for a while, so I _definitely_ saw everything. Just...be safe when he's here. We may have sound-proof walls, but anyone can suggest to barge in at any time. I'll warn you if it comes to that. But uh, can you answer one question," he ponders further. I know there's a catch. "Are you two...um—"

"Yeah, we're _boyfriends_," I answer, rolling my eyes. "That's it, that was your only question for the day. You can go now."

"Don't get all testy with me!" Eddy sasses, and I hear a low chuckle behind me. "I can easily tell anyone in this house. Don't think I didn't see what you guys were doing just a minute ago. I must say, I didn't know you were able to _imitate_ a girl's scream."

"_Shut up_," I growl.

"Whatever, at least you sound better than your mother," Eddy keeps pushing, and I blush angrily at that. I don't want to hear _that_, out of _all_ things! "I swear, it's like a chopped and screwed version of a Justin Bieber song. It's _so_ horrible."

"I would love it, if you _stop_ talking about my mom!" I yell. Why didn't I prepare for a verbal lashing by one of the most snarky, pedantic bastards of this household? Of course, nothing can scare me more than Eddy showing a tape of me making out with another guy to my mom, or anyone else in this house. She already knows about the showdown, which devastated her, and caused me to be crushed by my mom's bear hugs. "I don't _want_ a mental image of..._that_!"

"Good, because I was too scarred on the first night," He jokes. I frown deeper, when Marcus' chuckles turn into full-blown laughs. I turn around to glare, but he doesn't stop. "You guys are boring me now. I'm going to watch Donnie do some high-kicks in his tighty-whities." With that, he dissolves away, and we're alone again.

"At least another person, or thing...kind of knows about us," Marcus laughs, and wipes his eyes from tears of amusement. "I'm sorry, Leo."

"No, it's not your fault, I just _really_ hate my home security system," I mutter. "He's so fucking annoying."

"Yeah, it wasn't easy hacking into _that_ either," he mentions, referring to the time he captured Big D, and got into our security system to tell us where he's at. "He insisted that I don't enable his 'cookies', whatever that means. But, I did it to spite him."

I roll my eyes, and my lips twitch into a grin. "You're so...weird."

"Yeah, but it's one of my best qualities," he says back, throwing his arms up in the air. "Anyway, uh, I think I should be going home. This is really uncomfortable, knowing that your home security system filming our entire make out session..."

"When will I see you again?" I ask, a bit too desperate and like a 'lovesick child' for my taste.

"It's not on the list, but I wanna see a real art show at the museum on the first week of February," Marcus explains, with a short laugh. "The one at school fucking sucked. Plus, I did some telepathy, and it seems like you hate it so I'm going to make you like it."

"You need to stop reading my mind, you...mind prober," I joke, walking over to him to capture his lips again. "So, I guess it's a date?"

"It's a third date," he whispers back. As soon as he leaves, I quickly put on some more comfortable clothes, and sigh onto my bed. It still has his intoxicating scent all over it, making it hard for me to change the sheets anytime soon. Yeah, I probably have to get around that eventually, but for now, I feel like jelly (which is getting worse by the minute).

"Ooooh, _someone's in love!_" I hear Eddy's stupid voice singing again. My head snaps up from the sheets, to stare at him angrily. "And ironically, his name starts with a L, and ends with an O!"

"Shut up!"

"You have his lovin', you have his revenge," He sings again, with his annoying, computerized voice. "You want his love, and you want his revenge. You want his love, you don't wanna be friends!"

"Your voice sounds like angry cats scratching on a _fucking_ chalkboard," I tell him, sitting upright on my slightly messy bed. "And, who says that I love _anyone_? Did I _mention_ that we just got into this relationship?"

"Think about it, you've been _stalking_ this kid to find out if he's evil or not ever since the guitar incident. And, also, sometimes you would mutter his name in your sleep," Eddy hypothesizes, with his semi-serious voice. "I may not know everything about human emotion, but from what I seen a few minutes ago, you two do seem enwrapped in each other."

"I'm pretty sure it's _normal_ to gaze at each other," I say.

Eddy rolls his eyes, the best way he can. "Dude, you look at him the same way Donnie looks at your gorilla mother. I see _everything_."

"Yeah, no doubt about that," I grumble. I still feel violated that Eddy would even videotape that moment! He can use that against me for so many reasons. "I have no idea what you're talking about, and I hope that you do not tell _anyone_ about this. That means anyone. I don't want Big D on my ass, asking about his whereabouts to eliminate him for good, or Chase's constant pressing, or Adam's interrogations, or even Bree glaring at me. And I do _not_ want my mom to start her overprotective status again. I love those guys, but there are certain things they don't need to know."

"Like your _flaming_ sexuality?"

"_No_!" I shout. "No, that's not what I meant. I mean…"

"You love him _soooo_ much that _nothing_ matters."

"Shut the hell up!" I shout again. "I don't love anyone! I...I'm infatuated, a lot. He's my first relationship, ever, and I'm not a hopeless sap that just falls head-over-heels for a bionic android that used to be evil in a month of our relationship. That's not me. I'm a person with dignity, and willpower over my actions and emotions."

"Are you _sure_, because you crumbled when—"

"GET OUT!"

—

I get absolutely no sleep that following night, thanks to Eddy's words buzzing in my head all night. Besides the stupid song lyrics, everything else buzzes in my mind like angry birds chirping in my ear. Oh wait, that's the weird alarm clock buzzing next to me. I shut it off, and step out of bed. I'm tired as hell, and I have school in another hour. How am I going to stay up, knowing I did not get a wink of sleep last night? Ugh, I blame Eddy. He's the stupid one who implemented words into my head. He's the one who thinks I'm in _love_ with a sociopathic _mastermind_ who's apparently my boyfriend. He's the one who holds this piece of information that I can't reveal to anyone else.

What to do, what to do. I _can't_ allow myself to sleep in class, and I _can't_ allow myself to take caffeine (_again_). It's not gonna happen.

I quickly get ready for school, and descend the stairs, over to the living room, where mom reads the newspaper on the couch. She looks back at me, and grins politely. "Oh, you're up early."

"Yeah," I mutter. "I figured why not wake up before my alarm clock?" Or, not sleeping at all? Yeah, _that_ works!

"Uh huh, are you sure you're not gonna meet up with your girlfriend?" Don't judge me, okay? I didn't tell anyone yet, but when my mom asks that, it makes me think that maybe it is time to say something about it. I can't keep up this for so long, because that would just mislead everyone into thinking that I'm dating a girl that I'm not interested in. "You can walk with her to school, you know. That's what two people in a relationship do."

"Yeah, uh, about that—"

"Good morning world, and all who inhabited it!" Saved by the Adam. I heave a relieved sigh, after seeing Adam, Bree, and Chase appear, already grabbing bowls for cereal. "Where's the powder O's?" He asks, after opening every cabinet in the kitchen.

"I just finished the last of it," Mom answers, and nonchalantly drinks her coffee. I stare at her weirdly, thinking why would someone of her age, eat something so sugary. "There's no more eggs, and there was plenty of milk. There's some Fruity O's if you want."

"Leo, you're up early," Chase notes, after snatching the box of cereal away from his older brother. "Let me guess, you're walking your girlfriend to school."

"Yeah, you can say that!" Eddy buts in, with a knowing grin on his face. "Or maybe he's accompanying his—"

"Hey Eddy, _shut_ up," I glare at the home security system, who seems to be indifferent. "No, I'm not walking _anyone_ to school. I just woke up early."

"That's what Bree used to say before we found out about Owen," Adam says, his mouth full of cereal. I wrinkle my nose in disgust after seeing a trail of milk pool from his mouth to the ground. "Too bad I caught her at the last minute before she told all of us."

"Seriously, guys—"

"I _never_ snuck out the house early in the morning for a man!" Bree argues, with a deep blush on her face. "I used to sneak out early because Caitlin drove me to school."

I raise my eyebrow, because I know that's _far_ from the truth. Caitlin doesn't drive, and if she does, then Bree would've been dead already. "Actually, if there are no interruptions, I wanted to say something, and I'm glad that all of you are here."

"Are you finally coming o—"

"SHUT UP!" I scream, causing Eddy to dissolve suddenly. "Okay, uh, so, I don't want you guys to get mad, but I'm not in a relationship with Janelle. As a matter of fact, we never were. She liked me, but I, surprisingly, don't feel the same way anymore. I finally told her the truth during our second date, but we still agreed to be friends because we had a good thing going as friends. I'm not dating anyone, so you can stop asking me other questions."

The room is silent, uncomfortably, and I wonder if I really said the right thing. I only said half of my feelings; I would never reveal my current relationship status, or as Eddy puts it, my 'flaming sexuality'. I already explained that I'm not sure about that, but he just wants to put words in my head. In a matter of thirty seconds, a shit-eating grin appears on Chase's face, and he turns towards his older siblings. "I believe _both_ of you owe me five bucks each."

"_What_?"

Both teens grumble, while Chase does a victory dance. "I already knew that—"

"No, I mean, _you guys betted on my love life?_"

"In our defense, we were sure you were dating someone," Bree argues, and shamefully hands her younger brother a five-dollar-bill. "It happened last year. I argued with Chase that something was going on with you, like you would look more happy than usual. I confronted you, but you were being condescending, so I hypothesized that you were in a relationship. The only person you were really interested in was Janelle, but he denies it."

"I only denied it because I haven't seen them talk to each other lately."

"Then...after a few days, it occurred to me that maybe you were interested in...other things, so I spoke to both Dumby McDumb Dumb and Chase about it after the New Years party, in our hangover glory. Adam says that you might have something with Janelle, which I profusely argued against because I had a feeling that you had other interests elsewhere, so that's how the bet started. It seemed like Adam was winning, but I became confident again when I saw your face before the second date."

"And _I_ said that you weren't dating anyone," Chase shrugs. "And I was right!"

"You guys suck!" I pout, but I stop myself. "And what do you mean, other interests?"

"I thought you were gay," Bree concludes, with a nonchalant shrug. I immediately tense up, until I feel a hand on my shoulder. Is it _that_ obvious—I mean, is she trying to drill false accusations in my head?

"Which I thought was illogical because you've _never_ shown any interests towards guys," Chase speaks up, with one nod.

I feel a pang on my chest, because I know that no one would understand that. Chase didn't seem comfortable to find out that his crush is a lesbian, so he probably won't be okay to find out about me, who's in a relationship with another guy. "Which is _slightly_ unfair for a guy with a crush on a lesbian," Bree rolls her eyes.

"That's pretty insensitive for you to say," Mom speaks up, with a frown at Chase. "It's okay if Leo prefers guys, I don't find it to be intimidating. And stop betting on people's love lives and go to school." She kisses my forehead, and grabs her mug. "Now!"

I get up from the couch, and follow them out of the house, with the knowledge that no one still knows anything. However, note to self, watch out for Bree. She knows something's up. Then again, Eddy also knows, and he's blackmailing me to the fullest. Well, not direct blackmail, but whatever I say or do can be used against me. How fun!

* * *

**AN: I did warn you that this chapter was gonna be late...with that said, I am so so sorry this chapter was late! My life, my boring life, gets hectic sometimes. On Thursday, I had work (and I am not working on Thursdays for a pretty long time because of school. I just cannot do the school then straight to work commute) and yesterday, my mom turned an old age. Yeah, that's all you're getting. And, I know that I'm working almost the whole day, so why not now in the middle of the night?**

**Thank you all for the reviews! You guys are all awesome and I give you all virtual valentines. Next time they will be golden tickets, or green clovers. Whatever the upcoming holiday is. Oh, and Lab Rats is coming back on February 17th, I think. Ugh, so much television premieres. First, the Fosters, then stupid Degrassi, and then Twisted, and then Lab Rats and Kickin' It. My heart cannot take this much feels.**

**To better situations, classes will definitely drag me down. Like, in spring 2013, I came out with sporadic one shots (then again, I went through a depressive slump) However, I've prewritten this story so I'm good. I think. I still wrote during the fall...**


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